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EC 329: Business Organization and Management: Systematic Reviews & Meta-analysis

This guide will focus on Evidence-Based Management research and practices.

Systematic Reviews

"The purpose of a systematic review is to sum up the best available research on a specific question. This is done by synthesizing the results of several studies.   A systematic review uses transparent procedures to find, evaluate and synthesize the results of relevant research."


See the Campbell Collaboration, the source of this quotation, for more about helping people make well-informed decisions by preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews in education, crime and justice, and social welfare.

Finding systematic reviews in management research

Systematic reviews for management research are not yet available in quantity, but some can be found in collections of scholarly articles.
 

Step A:

In any scholarly database, add keyword "systematic review" (in quotes, to indicate the entire phrase) to your search terms. 
A true systematic review will (almost always) include the term in either the article's title or abstract.

Step B:

Use search fields and thesauri if available in those structured databases. 

Meta-analysis

"Meta-analysis is the quantitative synthesis of results of multiple studies. It can estimate trends, assess variations across studies, and correct for errors and bias in a body of research."

Julia H. Littell "Meta-Analysis" The Encyclopedia of Social Work. Ed. Terry Mizrahi and Larry E. Davis. 2008 National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press, Inc.

Finding meta-analysis in management research

Meta-analyses for management research are not common, but some can be found in collections of scholarly articles.
 
Step A: 

In any scholarly database, add keyword "meta-analysis" (no quotes needed) to your search terms. 

Step B:

Use search fields and thesauri if available in those structured databases.