Skip to main content

Methodological Quality of Educational Technology Meta-analyses

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies

Introduction

Scientists have known for centuries that a single study will not resolve a major issue. Indeed, a small sample study will not even resolve a minor issue. Thus, the foundation of a science is the culmination of knowledge from the results of many studies. (Hunter et al. 1982, p. 10)

Gene Glass’s meta-analytic work in psychotherapy and on class size in education marked the beginning of a new era in systematic reviews (Glass 1976; Glass and Smith 1979). Despite the initial objections of some skeptics (e.g., Eysenck 1978, 1995; Gallo 1978; Presby 1978), meta-analysis (M-A), as a methodology of quantitative synthesis, has continued to grow exponentially and has become the most reliable source of comprehensive summaries of quantitative research in a wide variety of fields (Glass 2016; Shadish and Lecy 2015).

However, like any other form of research, M-As can be biased in a number of ways (e.g., Abrami et al. 1988; Bernard et al. 2014a; Benard 2014; Cooper 2016; Polanin et al. 2016...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rana M. Tamim .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Appendix

Appendix

Methodological Quality of Educational Technology Meta-analyses, Fig. 3
figure 136figure 136

Study statistics and forest plot of 49 meta-analyses

Methodological Quality of Educational Technology Meta-analyses, Fig. 4
figure 137figure 137

Funnel plot of 49 meta-analyses

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Tamim, R.M., Borokhovski, E.F., Bernard, R.M. (2020). Methodological Quality of Educational Technology Meta-analyses. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1_113

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics