Synthesis and Meta-Analysis

Applied linguists have turned increasingly over the last decade to research synthesis and meta-analysis as indispensable means of reviewing accumulated research. In turn, the impact of secondary studies using these tools has been and will likely continue to be significant in terms of advancing theory, directing future research, and informing applied linguistics practice. Awareness and familiarity of synthetic methods among applied linguists is relatively new and thus underdeveloped compared to our colleagues in related fields. Therefore, the creation of a research network devoted to this research methodology can greatly enhance the field’s collective ability both to synthesize, via meta-analysis and other forms of systematic synthesis, and to interpret and apply synthetic and meta-analytic findings to research domains of interest to applied linguists.

Bearing in mind the potential of research synthesis and meta-analysis to summarize the past and direct the future of applied linguistics, we have established an AILA Research Network (ReN) of scholars active and interested in research synthesis and meta-analysis. The primary goal of the ReN is to build on the recent, foundational work in this area in order to advance and promote appropriate and effective use and evaluation of research synthetic techniques in applied linguistics. Within this broad goal, we have identified a number of more specific subgoals and research areas that the ReN will address:

  • Foster a synthetic approach to primary research (Norris & Ortega, 2006, 2007)
  • Educate applied linguists on the decision points and judgment-making involved in synthetic research to enable them to better conduct meta-analyses and assess meta-analytic findings (e.g., In’nami & Koizumi, 2010; Norris, 2012; Ortega, 2010; Oswald & Plonsky, 2010; Stevens & Taylor, 2009)
  • Trace the use and impact of meta-analysis in applied linguistics (Norris & Ortega, 2010)
  • Examine methodological quality among primary studies from a synthetic perspective (Plonsky, 2011; Plonsky & Gass, 2011)
  • Develop field-specific standards that can inform producers, reviewers, editors, and consumers of research syntheses and meta-analyses (Plonsky, 2009b, in press-c)
  • Refine proposed discipline-specific standards for interpreting effect sizes (Oswald & Plonsky, 2010; Plonsky, in press-b; Plonsky & Oswald, 2010; Plonsky & Oswald, 2012)
  • Promote understanding of the issue of publication bias and of methods to assess it (e.g., Li, 2010; see Plonsky, 2011)
  • Raise awareness with respect to the relationship between and importance of p values (i.e., statistical significance), effect sizes (i.e., practical significance), and statistical power in quantitative research (e.g., Crookes, 1991; Lazaraton, 1991, 2000; Nassaji, in press; Norris & Ortega, 2000; Plonsky, 2009a, 2011)
  • Identify areas ripe for meta-analysis
  • Educate the current and next generation of applied linguists on appropriate use of synthetic methods
  • Keep abreast of developments in synthetic and meta-analytic techniques from other fields and evaluate their relevance for and applicability to synthesizing applied linguistics research
  • Provide a forum for the discussion of the relationship between primary and secondary research and for improved understanding of what accumulation and synthesis of knowledge means in the context of increased epistemological diversity and disciplinary expansion of research interests, including new quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research approaches in applied linguistics (Benson et al., 2009; Chalhoub-Deville, Chapelle, & Duff, 2006; Norris & Ortega, 2006 & 2007; Ortega, 2010; Thomas, 2006)

Contact:

Ph.D John Norris ()

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