Guidelines are offered that make it more likely that high-quality information will be extracted and coded from primary research reports in meta-analyses. It is also noted that the methodology of meta-analysis results in pressure to change the type of information that appears in primary research reports. (SLD)

The six articles of this issue discuss the place of meta-analysis in the health professions and present two state-of-the-art meta-analyses using a variety of innovative methodologies, statistics, and secondary analytic procedures. A survey conducted for this issue and its sequel explores interventions to facilitate meta-analysis. (SLD)