ISBN: 1405150149 9781405150149

Category: Psychology / Statistics

Page count: 354

Such diverse thinkers as Lao-Tze, Confucius, and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have all pointed out that we need to be able to tell the difference between real and assumed knowledge. The systematic review is a scientific tool that can help with this difficult task. It can help, for example, with appraising, summarising, and communicating the results and implications of otherwise unmanageable quantities of data. <br> <p>This book, written by two highly-respected social scientists, provides an overview of systematic literature review methods:<br> </p> <ul> <li><br> </li> <li>Outlining the rationale and methods of systematic reviews;<br> </li> <li>Giving worked examples from social science and other fields;<br> </li> <li>Applying the practice to all social science disciplines;<br> </li> <li>It requires no previous knowledge, but takes the reader through the process stage by stage;<br> </li> <li>Drawing on examples from such diverse fields as psychology, criminology, education, transport, social welfare, public health, and housing and urban policy, among others.<br> </li> <li>Including detailed sections on assessing the quality of both quantitative, and qualitative research; searching for evidence in the social sciences;<br> meta-analytic and other methods of evidence synthesis; publication bias; heterogeneity; and approaches to dissemination.</li> </ul>