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Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis

Naturevolume 555, pages175–182 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Meta-analysis is the quantitative, scientific synthesis of research results. Since the term and modern approaches to research synthesis were first introduced in the 1970s, meta-analysis has had a revolutionary effect in many scientific fields, helping to establish evidence-based practice and to resolve seemingly contradictory research outcomes. At the same time, its implementation has engendered criticism and controversy, in some cases general and others specific to particular disciplines. Here we take the opportunity provided by the recent fortieth anniversary of meta-analysis to reflect on the accomplishments, limitations, recent advances and directions for future developments in the field of research synthesis.

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Figure 1: Various charts and plots common to meta-analysis.

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Acknowledgements

We dedicate this Review to the memory of Ingram Olkin and William Shadish, founding members of the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology who made tremendous contributions to the development of meta-analysis and research synthesis and to the supervision of generations of students. We thank L. Lagisz for help in preparing the figures. We are grateful to the Center for Open Science and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation for hosting and funding a workshop, which was the origination of this article. S.N. is supported by Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT130100268). J.G. acknowledges funding from the US National Science Foundation (ABI 1262402).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-5245, New York, USA

    Jessica Gurevitch

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, Surrey, UK

    Julia Koricheva

  3. Evolution and Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, New South Wales, Australia

    Shinichi Nakagawa

  4. Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 2010, New South Wales, Australia

    Shinichi Nakagawa

  5. School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Gavin Stewart

Authors
  1. Jessica Gurevitch
  2. Julia Koricheva
  3. Shinichi Nakagawa
  4. Gavin Stewart

Contributions

All authors contributed equally in designing the study and writing the manuscript, and so are listed alphabetically.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence toJessica Gurevitch,Julia Koricheva,Shinichi Nakagawa orGavin Stewart.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Reviewer InformationNature thanks D. Altman, M. Lajeunesse, D. Moher and G. Romero for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Gurevitch, J., Koricheva, J., Nakagawa, S.et al. Meta-analysis and the science of research synthesis.Nature555, 175–182 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25753

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Editorial Summary

The rise of research synthesis

Four decades after its introduction, meta-analysis has become a widely accepted research synthesis tool. In this Review, Jessica Gurevitch and colleagues explore the history, development and current state of meta-analytic practice in the biological sciences. They outline the contributions that it has made to several disciplines, particularly ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation, where the number of meta-analyses has increased exponentially over time. They discuss some of the pitfalls of these types of analyses and summarize recent developments such as the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. They suggest that evidence synthesis should become a regular companion to primary scientific research to maximize the effectiveness of scientific inquiry, but call for the rigorous application of stricter quality criteria for the publication of meta-analyses.

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