As the empirical literature in educational technology continues to grow, meta-analyses are increasingly being used to synthesise research to inform practice. However, not all meta-analyses are equal. To examine their evolution over the past 30 years, this study systematically analysed the quality of 52 meta-analyses (1988-2017) on educational…

Single-case design has a long history of use for assessing intervention effectiveness for children with disabilities. Although these designs have been widely employed for more than 50 years, recent years have been especially dynamic in terms of growth in the use of single-case design and application of standards designed to improve the validity…

Research syntheses in education, particularly meta-analyses and best-evidence syntheses, identify evidence-based practices by combining findings across studies whose constructs are similar enough to warrant comparison. Yet constructs come preloaded with social, historical, political, and cultural assumptions that anticipate how research problems…

This article reviews some of the strengths and limitations of the comparative use of meta-analysis findings, using examples from the Sutton Trust-Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning "Toolkit" which summarizes a range of educational approaches to improve pupil attainment in schools. This comparative use of quantitative…

The idea of threshold concepts (TC) has been well received across the higher education community. However the concept's framework is still evolving and the literature uses the framework in different ways. Just over a decade since the idea first captured interest, it is opportune to explore the nature of that discourse, and the kinds of enquiry…

Any research study can only be fully appreciated once it is situated in relation to existing work. This is no mean feat, however, given the sheer quantity and variety of publications to date. Simply relying on one's background and experience as an expert in the field, coupled with a few internet searches and following up individual references, is…

Whilst systematic reviews, meta-analyses and other forms of synthesis are considered amongst the most valuable forms of research evidence, their limited impact on educational policy and practice has been criticised. In this article, we analyse why systematic reviews do not benefit users of evidence more consistently and suggest how review teams…

A synthesis of research on the TEACCH Model was conducted to determine which components of Structured Teaching under the TEACCH model meet criteria as evidenced based practices using the Reichow, Volkmar, and Cicchetti criteria (2007) along with reporting on the findings of the National Autism Center report (2009). The critical components of the…