Qualitative Synthesis
Created by Axel Burch
systematic reviews
explicit study protocol with pre-specified question, with explicit methods for searching, appraisal and synthesis of studies
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
systematic reviews | explicit study protocol with pre-specified question, with explicit methods for searching, appraisal and synthesis of studies |
10 SR steps | >formulate research question
>search strategy
>study selection
>data extraction
>quality assessment
>data synthesis
>interpretation and conclusion
>reporting
>reviews and publication
>update/maintenance |
approaches | >scoping review
>sr review of previous sr
>sr without meta-analysis
>sr with meta-analysis |
quantitative sr | easily measures intervention and impact, and can restrict to high quality evidence |
qualitative sr | more problematic as forms of evidence can be messy and phenomena not easily measured |
qualitative synthesis | >meta-ethnography
>grounded theory
>thematic synthesis
>framework synthesis
>critical interpretive synthesis |
meta-ethnography | >Noblit and Hare (1988)
>alternative to meta-analysis |
m-e modifications | >Britten et al. (2002) and Campbell et al. (2003)- quality appraisal using CASP to exclude studies and inclusion of second and third order constructs
>Toye et al. (2017)- meta-ethnography of qualitative synthesis |
issues with m-e | >difficulty choosing specific concept
>unclear second/third order distinction
>unclear how to sample
>difficult to execute |
grounded theory | >Glaser and Strauss (1967)- gt studies could be abstracted to a higher level
>Finfgeld (1999), Kearney (2001) and Eaves (2001)- applies grounded theory to primary studies that used grounded theory |
gt synthesis | >simultaneous data collection and analysis
>inductive approach
>constant comparison
>theoretical sampling for theoretical saturation |
thematic synthesis | >Thomas and Harden (2008)
>aims to address questions alongside intervention effectiveness
>free codes of findings organised into 'descriptive themes' |
framework synthesis | >Burton et al. and Oliver et al.
>highly structured approach aiming to organise and analyse large volumes of textual data
>indexing using numerical codes
>rearranging data visually
>uses 'a priori framework' for data extraction and synthesis
>largely deductive |
critical interpretive synthesis | >Dixon-woods et al
>adapted m-e with gt techniques
>used to synthesise quantitative and qualitative data, and for large data sets
>iterative approach
>develops 'synthetic constructs'
>theory generation
>rejects need for 1st-3rd order constructs |
issues in cis | >demanding and only suitable for experienced qualitative researchers
>difficult tot demonstrate explicitness, reproducibility, and comprehensiveness
>impossible to be exhaustive |
distinguishing approaches | >Spencer et al. (2003)
>objective idealism- there's a world of collectively shared understandings (m-e, gt)
>critical realism- knowledge of reality is mediated by perceptions and beliefs (ts, fs) |
what guidance is most commonly used for quantitative literature reviews? | PRISMA |
heterogenous inclusion criteria | any approach can be sampled and synthesised |