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Meta-study is an exciting new opportunity for the analysis and synthesis of qualitative research findings. Over the last two decades, a wide range of methods and approaches originating from the social and health sciences have provided a wealth of new knowledge sources from which to develop theory.
This book provides step-by-step directions for how to conduct a meta-study, as well as recommendations for tools and standards for the application of this approach.
Meta-study entails an exhaustive analysis of the theory, method, and findings of research in a substantive area. These analytic processes form the foundation upon which a credible synthesis of new knowledge can be explored. Meta-study permits investigators to:
{ look beyond individual findings
{ critically interpret variations and contradictions in the body of available research
{ move toward the potential for knowledge synthesis
The authors of this timely volume:
{ differentiate between meta-analysis and meta-synthesis
{ write in a how-to style
{ illustrate each step with examples from their own meta-study projects in the substantive field of chronic illness
{ use their own experience with performing a meta-study to explain the process, including past mistakes and retrospective insight
List of contents
Introduction
Laying the Groundwork for Meta-Study
The Retrieval and Assessment of Primary Research
Meta-Data-Analysis
Meta-Method
Meta-Theory
Meta-Synthesis
Evaluation, Dissemination and Future Challenges
About the author
Sally Thorne, RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAHS, is a Professor and former Director of the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, where she currently also holds the position of Associate Dean of Applied Science. She has a longstanding research program in the field of patient experience and relational practice in chronic illness and cancer care in addition to a body of scholarly work in the philosophy of science, the nature of evidence, and applied qualitative methodology. She is author of four books, including a popular qualitative research text on Interpretive Description. She has an extensive record of peer reviewed journal publications and has presented her work internationally as invited scholar, keynote lecturer and distinguished professor. She is Editor-in-Chief of the scholarly journal Nursing Inquiry and Associate Editor for Qualitative Health Research. She has served terms as Board Director for numerous organizations, including the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and the Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, and is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.ducational Background
BN, Dalhousie University
MSN, University of British Columbia
PhD, University of Victoria
Service
Member, Interprofessional Education Curriculum Committee
Faculty Affilliate, Human Early Learning Partnership
Board Member, BC Council For Families
