Revisiting Methods of Literature Synthesis.
Harsh Suri, David M. Clarke · 1999
This paper highlights the relative strengths and weaknesses nf rho rnhrompnrm,y moi-hnAa nf 1.-,.a=nrnh aynt1naa4a .17,4 pr^p^..0 o nw1 r4cr=ge approach to research synthesis that draws on the strengths of each of these individual methods. In this approach, the decisions at every step of the synthesis process are guided by the nature of the data. The contemporary methods reviewed are: (1) narrative reviews of research; (2) meta-analysis; (3) best evidence synthesis; and (4) synthesis of qualitative research. A key assertion of this paper is that the process of synthesizing research should be inductive and interpretive rather than a rigid set of procedures and techniques. The proposed multistage approach begins with conceptual, rather than methodological, criteria for inclusion of individual studies. Open coding and the categorization of studies into sets and subsets follows, with the synthesis process remaining dialectical and hermeneutic at each stage. Whatever the techniques chosen for the qualitative synthesis, the process of research synthesis should be inductive, interpretive, dialectic, and hermeneutic. (Contains 31 references.) (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 00 00 Cr) Revisiting Methods of Literature Synthesis