Title: How science takes stock : the story of meta-analysis /
Authors: Hunt, Morton M., 1920-2016
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation,
Year: 1997
Subjects: Meta-Analysis as Topic; Behavioral Sciences methods; Science methods; Science Miscellanea; Science Methodology; Meta-analysis
Abstract: Policymakers, medical practitioners, and the public alike face a bewildering flood of new and often contradictory scientific studies on almost every topic. Does psychotherapy work, and if so what form works best? Does federal spending on education improve student performance? Whatever the issue, the growth of modern science has often done more to stir up controversy than to establish reliable knowledge. To address this problem, scientists in several fields have developed a sophisticated new methodology called meta-analysis. By numerically combining diverse research findings on a single question, meta-analysis can be used to identify their central tendency and reach conclusions far more reliable than those of any single investigation.
Contents: Making order of scientific chaos -- Settling doubts about psychotherapy -- Clarifying murky issues in education -- "Who shall decide, when doctors disagree?" -- Firming up the shaky social sciences -- Lighting the way for makers of social policy -- Epilogue: the future of meta-analysis.