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| Friday, 14 January 2005: 8:00 AM-9:45 AM | |||
| Hibiscus A (Hyatt Regency Miami) | |||
| Methods of Research Synthesis: Providing Credible Evidence for Practice and Policy | |||
| Organizer: | Julia H. Littell, PhD, Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research | ||
| Methods of Research Synthesis Julia H. Littell, PhD | |||
| Assessment of Study Quality Kathleen Wells, PhD, Julia H. Littell, PhD | |||
| Evaluating a Body of Evidence Matthew Stagner, Julia H. Littell, PhD | |||
| Format: | Symposium | ||
| Abstract Text: The evidence-based practice movement has renewed interest in reviews of research that show “what works” and “what works best for whom.” A careful identification, analysis, and synthesis of results of multiple treatment outcome studies can produce better information about program effects--and conditions under which effects may vary—than any single study. However, there are wide variations in the methods reviewers use to find, evaluate, integrate and weigh the evidence. There is a growing body of knowledge that indicates different methods of research synthesis lead to different conclusions (Juni et al., 1999; Littell, 2004; Scher, 2003). This symposium examines prominent methods that have been devised to synthesize results of research on treatment outcomes. Important steps and decisions in the review process are considered, with particular attention to two particularly complex (and contested) steps in this process: evaluating the methodological rigor of an individual study and evaluating the weight of a body of evidence. The first paper considers variations in review methods and the potential impact of these variations on conclusions about the effectiveness of interventions. The second paper takes a closer look at tools for assessing study quality for purposes of a research review. The third paper compares criteria for judging the weight of a body of evidence. Each paper develops implications for research synthesis, publication standards, and doctoral research training. | |||
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See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)