Conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the administration of human albumin in critically ill patients. Findings raised serious concerns about the safety of an intervention that has been widely used in health care around the world. Findings illustrate the importance of systematic reviews in health care and other areas of…

The use of Monte Carlo methods demonstrated that a formula presented by M. G. Kendall for estimating Pearson's rho from tau is somewhat more accurate than a formula presented by K. Pearson for estimating Pearson's rho from a Spearman's rho coefficient. Implications for meta-analysis of correlations are discussed. (SLD)

Examined the historical growth in the popularity of statistical significance testing using a random sample of data from 12 American Psychological Association journals. Results replicate and extend findings from a study that used only one such journal. Discusses the role of statistical significance testing and the use of replication and…

The Hubbard and Ryan article is a little ingenuous in its implications for action. Both meta-analyses and replication have problems of their own; each requires careful attention. Good measurement emphasizes proper sampling techniques and using whatever means possible to analyze data. (SLD)

Agrees with R. Hubbard and P. Ryan that statistical significance testing has had a negative impact in that some users have closed their minds to alternative approaches to conducting research. In marketing, the alternatives are not completely satisfactory, however, and researchers are likely to continue to rely on statistical significance testing.…

Summarizes a meta-analysis of published research on dynamic assessment that reviewed 30 studies (170 effect sizes). Discusses factors that impact effect size, including the predictive ability of type of assessment for effect size. Discusses results in the context of assumptions related to dynamic assessment. (SLD)

The meta-analysis of coefficient alpha across many studies is becoming more common in psychology by a methodology labeled reliability generalization. Existing reliability generalization studies have not used the sampling distribution of coefficient alpha for precision weighting and other common meta-analytic procedures. A framework is provided for…

A meta-analysis of the available judgment and memory data on the sleeper effect in persuasion is presented. According to this effect, when people receive a communication associated with a discounting cue, such as a noncredible source, they are less persuaded immediately after exposure than they are later in time. Findings from this meta-analysis…

This article provides a critical review of the assumptions and findings of studies used to establish psychotherapies as empirically supported. The attempt to identify empirically supported therapies (ESTs) imposes particular assumptions on the use of randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology that appear to be valid for some disorders and…

One version of r-sub(equivalent), calculated from Fisher's exact test p values and recommended for small samples, is considered "a more realistic... [and] a more accurate estimate of the population correlation than... the sample correlation, r-sub(sample)" (R. Rosenthal & D. B. Rubin, 2003, p. 494). Small sample properties of r-sub(sample) and of…

This article discusses meta-analysis in the context of research in gifted education. It provides the rationale for encouraging meta-analytic reviews, rather than narrative reviews, to synthesize the research in a given area. The article summarizes the results of reported meta-analyses retrieved from electronic databases and provides guidelines for…

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework and research hypotheses based upon a thorough review of the conceptual and limited published empirical research in the organizational learning and innovation performance literatures. Hypotheses indicate the relationships between organizational learning, its antecedent, perception of…

Quality assurance for higher education in Europe has developed significantly since 2002, and has increasingly influenced, and been influenced by, the Bologna Process. A major step in the Bologna Process was taken at the ministerial meeting in Bergen in May 2005, with the adoption of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the…

This review focuses on intervention studies that tested whether parent-child reading activities would enhance children's reading acquisition. The combined results for the 16 intervention studies, representing 1,340 families, were clear: Parent involvement has a positive effect on children's reading acquisition. Further analyses revealed that…

Methodological reviews have been used successfully to identify research trends and improve research practice in a variety of academic fields. Although there have been three methodological reviews of the emerging field of computer science education research, they lacked reliability or generalizability. Therefore, because of the capacity for a…