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Reviewing the Literature

Meta-Syntheses

Meta-syntheses are specific to qualitative research, with the aim of synthesizing a body of qualitative research in order to make a more compelling evidence statement.  This supports evidence-based practice (EBM).

 

What does this mean in practice?
 

Start with a research question that can be answered by a meta-synthesis project - e.g., as noted above - a review and synthesis of a large body of qualitative research - and link it to an outcome.  For example:  "What does it mean to patients to have Anorexia Nervosa?"

 

  • Select your collection of qualitative studies
     
  • Appraise and synthesize the findings from everything in your collection

 

Selection
 

  • Determine which databases you will use for your searches
     
  • Choose a systematic search strategy, e.g., the 7S Framework articulated by Booth:
     
    • Sampling, e.g. decide if you're aiming for an "exhaustive" search or a "strategic sampling" of the literature.
       
    • Sources, decide if there are particular formats you'll focus on, e.g., books, grey literature, theses, etc.
       
    • Structured questions, e.g. the framework you'll use to formulate your key research questions
    • Search procedures, e.g., the strategy you'll use to track down related publications and/or publications with behaviours of interest.
       
    • Strategies and filters, e.g., determining if it's feasible to filter results by methodology; if not, it will be useful to try a supplementary strategy.
       
    • Supplementary strategies, e.g., if you've determined that database filter-by-methodology features aren't available or don't work for your context, exploring article bibliographies and cited by/related publications links can be a good strategies to adopt.
       
    • Standards for reporting your literature searches, e.g., documenting your search strategies, databases searched etc.
      • STARLIGHT (Standards for Reporting Literature searches) may be a useful resource.

         
  • Limit searches to qualitative studies only - provided your database functionality supports this, as noted above in "supplementary strategies."
     
  • Develop your screening process to ensure that the studies you've found comply with your inclusion criteria.  Ideally this should be done on an anonymous basis - until your screeners' decisions have been made. 
     
    • You will need a minimum of two screeners, plus a tie-breaker.  You may want to consider using a screening tool to streamline this process.
       

Appraisal
 

"Focus is on the translation of studies and then systematically compared or 'translated' within and across studies while retaining the structure of the relationships between central concepts/themes and includes a 'thematic analysis'" (Temple University Libraries.  What is a Meta-Synthesis?"

 

Synthesis

 

Synthesis: Qualitative Differs from a Meta-Analysis (Quantitative) "The goal is not aggregative in the sense of 'adding studies together' as with a meta-analysis.  On the contrary, it is interpretative in broadening understanding of a particular phenomenon." (Source: Grant et al (2009))

There are 3 types of synthesis that may be used.

  1. Reciprocal Translation: Concepts in one study can incorporate those of another.
  2. Refutational Translation:Concepts in different studies contradict one another.
  3. Line of Argument Synthesis: Studies identify different aspects of the topic that can be drawn together in a new interpretation.

(France EF, Ring N et al 1988. As qtd in Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. Guide to systematic reviews & other review types)

 

Content Credit:  We gratefully acknowledge Ruhina Rana, who provided much of the content for this section.

 

Learn More

Booth, A. "Brimful of STARLITE": toward standards for reporting literature searches. J Med Libr Assoc 4, 4 (2006).  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1629442/

 

Booth, A. Searching for qualitative evidence [Powerpoint presentation: 7S Framework]. Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group.
 

Booth, A.. Searching for qualitative research for inclusion in systematic reviews: a structured methodological review.  Syst Rev 5, 74 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0249-x


Duden, G. S. Challenges to Qualitative Evidence Synthesis – Aiming for Diversity and Abstracting without Losing Meaning. Methods in Psychology, 5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2021.100070
 

JBI Evidence Synthesis [Journal, full-text 2020- present]
 

JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis
 

Walsh, Denis, and Soo Downe. Meta-Synthesis Method for Qualitative Research: A Literature Review.  Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50, 2 (2005).  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03380.x