Citing and Building on Meta-Analytic Findings

Abstract

Meta-analysis is commonly used to quantitatively review research findings in the social sciences. This article looks at what happens next, after a meta-analysis is published. The authors examine how meta-analytic findings are cited in subsequent studies and whether the citing authors take full advantage of the information meta-analyses provide. A review of 1,489 citations to meta-analyses in 319 empirical studies published in three journals over two decades indicates that the frequency of citing meta-analyses is accelerating. An analysis of citing practices indicates that authors use data for a variety of purposes in subsequent research studies. However, the citing studies often underreported important aspects of meta-analytic data, and additional opportunities exist to build on the data provided by meta-analytic reviews.