Literature Reviews and Meta Analysis

Abstract

This chapter discusses the most common research methodology in psychology: the literature review. Reviews generally have three purposes: (1) to critically evaluate and summa-rize a body of research; (2) to reach some conclusions about that research; and, finally, (3) to offer suggestions for future work. The basic and expert competencies required for com-pleting a high quality literature review are described by discussing seven major components of reviews along with relevant questions that should be answered to assess the successful comple-tion of each component. A major focus is on meta-analysis, but guidelines are pertinent in assessing the quality of various types of reviews including reviews of theories and clinical appli-cations. Readers are directed to additional helpful resources in order to aide them in becoming critical consumers or producers of good literature reviews.