As researchers, when we delve into the literature in our topical area, we often find ourselves
confronted with a number of quantitative research studies addressing our area of interest. How
do we quantify what we know across this body of research? Meta-analysis can be a useful tool for
quantitatively synthesizing what is known in a specific research area. However, the processes and
procedures for conducting a meta-analysis can often seem overwhelming. This presentation will
provide an overview of the types of research questions meta-analysis can address, procedures
for literature search and retrieval, key information to gather from research studies, strategies for data management and analysis, and interpretation of results. A variety of meta-analytic techniques will be discussed and an educational research example will be presented.