Abstract
A Guide to Qualitative Meta-Synthesis is a brief guide discussing the nuts and bolts of qualitative theory-generating meta-synthesis by following a series of steps that are relevant to combining the results of multiple primary qualitative studies. It could function as a useful introduction to this relatively new topic, which shows great promise in those fields that frequently employ qualitative methods in their studies. As the author notes, there is need for synthesizing the results of multiple qualitative studies to enable researchers to generalize the findings of qualitative research without sacrificing context-rich information (p. 1). This book could be a useful guide for anyone who wants to get initial understanding of qualitative synthesis. However, as the author recommends, at least a basic knowledge of qualitative research is essential to be able to make sense of what is presented here. The book provides straightforward answers to a set of questions that could potentially confuse beginners in qualitative synthesis. These questions include but are not limited to the inclusion of peer-reviewed versus non-peer-reviewed research, IRB permissions, mixed-methods research and so forth.
The book is organized around central elements of research. That is, each chapter elaborates on the basics of meta-synthesis based on research elements that are common to all studies. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and provides background information. It also introduces different types of meta-syntheses and provides examples of each in a matrix table (Table 1, p. 3). Another significant topic in this chapter is the comparison of qualitative versus quantitative systematic reviews with respect to their basic elements of research, such as purpose, research questions/hypotheses, sampling, data analysis and so forth. Each chapter is followed by a couple of pedagogically relevant tasks that could be used as a self-study/assessment tool or an in-class activity.
Chapter 2 discusses the purpose and rationale behind theory-generating qualitative meta-synthesis. It also touches upon the properties of theory-generating meta-synthesis topics and how to select them. Research questions and hypotheses are other themes that this chapter focuses on.
Chapter 3 is of utmost importance to researchers interested in theory-generating meta-synthesis as it discusses data collection and sampling. The importance of these two key topics can be attributed to the fact that they can directly influence the credibility of the findings in a systematic review. The chapter stresses that sampling should be carried out to avoid bias, which potentially harms to credibility of the findings. The author explicates database selection and search strategies. She also distinguishes between several search related terms, including theoretical searching, backwards/forwards searching, author/journal searching and so forth. The chapter ends with a discussion of sample size, which is yet another issue that should be considered carefully to obtain credible results.
Chapter 4 deals with data extraction and collecting raw data from primary qualitative studies, analyzing it and constructing the theory based on the data. A particular key point made in the chapter is that data extraction is a flexible process which involves not only qualitative research findings but also some data about the characteristics of the studies (e.g., research design, purpose, sampling and so forth). The author suggests using tables in which the data can be entered. She also follows a step-by-step method to explain how to locate and extract qualitative findings and research reports along with how to organize and analyze them. She spares a significant amount of space to coding and categorizing the raw data. It should be noted that the author provides examples of coding and how within-case and cross-case memoing was used to synthesize the raw data. The reader is recommended to scrutinize the sample memos that illustrate the author’s use of memoing as the primary analysis strategy to discover the relationships among concepts. Similarly, the author discusses the benefits of diagramming as an analysis tool and goes on to illustrate their use again through excerpts from previous research that she carried out. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to some other significant issues regarding how to ensure validity. Appreciating this part of the chapter is critical because the results will not mean much without reliable data collection and analysis procedures.
Chapter 5 discusses what to include in the report of the qualitative meta-synthesis and how to organize its sections. The author discusses the elements of each section along with points to avoid while writing the research report. She also summarizes the main points in a table (Table 5.1, p. 63), which can be used as a checklist to organize the sections of the report. However, the author warns that the tips for writing are intended for accurate reporting rather than guiding research or embellishing the final report (p. 62). Chapter 6 comes to the issue of how theory generating meta-synthesis can inform practice and decisions in the field. In this respect, the author highlights the importance of transferability of the findings.
One particularly good aspect of the book is that the author discusses the benefits and downsides of various actions that researchers could take (such as contacting authors of primary studies and appraising qualitative studies). To put it another way, she brings up an issue and offers potential solutions to it and further discusses them from multiple perspectives to pinpoint some foreseeable problems in the suggested solutions. In this respect, it enables the reader to recognize different sides of the issues. The book comes with a glossary of key terms and five appendices that complement the discussion in the chapters. Appendix 1 presents a list of meta-synthesis studies, most of which are carried out by the researcher herself. Appendix 2 to 4 include sample studies, and the last one presents a checklist that can be used for evaluating the quality of qualitative research.
The author transfers her first-hand experience in qualitative synthesis in the form of practical recommendations. These recommendations and answers to key questions are so important that she could have provided them in a list at the end of each chapter or maybe in a combined one in an appendix. Moreover, although there are occasional sections throughout the book that could sound repetitive to the reader, they only serve to consolidate some key points to the mind of the reader. Moreover, it is nice to have a comprehensive list of other books and articles at the end of each chapter as this book is an introduction to qualitative meta-synthesis. The reader is recommended to further check some of these as well. Overall, A Guide to Qualitative Meta-Synthesis enables its readers to get off to a jump start in qualitative synthesis in a short time.
