Evidence Synthesis & Systematic Reviews for Non-Health Sciences

Such diverse thinkers as Lao-Tze, Confucius, and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have all pointed out that we need to be able to tell the difference between real and assumed knowledge. The systematic review is a scientific tool that can help with this difficult task. It can help, for example, with appraising, summarising, and communicating the results and implications of otherwise unmanageable quantities of data.
This book, written by two highly-respected social scientists, provides an overview of systematic literature review methods:

Outlining the rationale and methods of systematic reviews;
Giving worked examples from social science and other fields;
Applying the practice to all social science disciplines;
It requires no previous knowledge, but takes the reader through the process stage by stage;
Drawing on examples from such diverse fields as psychology, criminology, education, transport, social welfare, public health, and housing and urban policy, among others.
Including detailed sections on assessing the quality of both quantitative, and qualitative research; searching for evidence in the social sciences;
meta-analytic and other methods of evidence synthesis; publication bias; heterogeneity; and approaches to dissemination.

When used in tandem, systematic reviews and meta-analysis-- two distinct but highly compatible approaches to research synthesis-- form a powerful, scientific approach to analyzing previous studies. But to see their full potential, a social work researcher must be versed in the foundationalprocesses underlying them. This pocket guide to Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis illuminates precisely that practical groundwork.In clear, step-by-step terms, the authors explain how to format topics, locate and screen studies, extract and assess data, pool effect sizes, determine bias, and interpret the results, showing readers how to combine reviewing and meta-analysis correctly and effectively. Each chapter containsvivid social work examples and concludes with a concise summary and notes on further reading, while the book's glossary and handy checklists and sample search and data extraction forms maximize the boo'ks usefulness.Highlighting the concepts necessary to understand, critique, and conduct research synthesis, this brief and highly readable introduction is a terrific resource for students and researchers alike.

In this open access edited volume, international researchers of the field describe and discuss the systematic review method in its application to research in education. Alongside fundamental methodical considerations, reflections and practice examples are included and provide an introduction and overview on systematic reviews in education research. Contents Reflections on the Methodological Approach of Systematic Reviews Ethical Considerations of Conducting Systematic Reviews in Educational Research Teaching Systematic Review Conceptualizations and Measures of Student Engagement The Role of Social Goals in Academic Success Target Groups Researchers, instructors, and students in the field of education and related disciplines.

In the decade since the idea of adapting the evidence-based paradigm for software engineering was first proposed, it has become a major tool of empirical software engineering. Evidence-Based Software Engineering and Systematic Reviews provides a clear introduction to the use of an evidence-based model for software engineering research and practice.

The book explains the roles of primary studies (experiments, surveys, case studies) as elements of an over-arching evidence model, rather than as disjointed elements in the empirical spectrum. Supplying readers with a clear understanding of empirical software engineering best practices, it provides up-to-date guidance on how to conduct secondary studies in software engineering--replacing the existing 2004 and 2007 technical reports.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the nature of evidence and the evidence-based practices centered on a systematic review, both in general and as applying to software engineering. The second part examines the different elements that provide inputs to a systematic review (usually considered as forming a secondary study), especially the main forms of primary empirical study currently used in software engineering.

The final part provides practical guidance on how to conduct systematic reviews (the guidelines ), drawing together accumulated experiences to guide researchers and students in planning and conducting their own studies. The book includes an extensive glossary and an appendix that provides a catalogue of reviews that may be useful for practice and teaching.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) promises to have a profound impact on social work practice, education, and scholarship, but adopting EBP depends on the availability and accessibility of evidence and on strategies to synthesize this information. Systematic reviews provide a comprehensive,unbiased method for retrieving and synthesizing relevant research. This pocket guide is a concise introduction that describes the steps required to complete a systematic review and the criteria that can be used to assess the quality of existing reviews.The authors provide straightforward information on how to define a search question that captures the problem's parameters, develop a search strategy that is transparent and comprehensive, assess the quality and credibility of existing research, and summarize the available research to support EBP insocial work. Providing coverage for both quantitative and qualitative synthesis methods, examples illustrate the steps and decisions associated with each approach to research synthesis. Key points and suggested readings and websites provide avenues for further study. This pocket guide is anexcellent introduction to EBP and systematic reviews that will be valued by social work students, practitioners, and scholars.