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Abstract
Meta‐analysis has been adopted in many scientific fields for synthesizing large bodies of research, for evidence‐based development of practical policies, and for empirical resolution of difficult questions. It provides a rigorous, objective, and quantitative strategy to make effective use of an existing body of research, even when the results seem inconsistent and inconclusive. This paper reviews usage of meta‐analysis in research on criminal justice‐related issues and problems over the past three decades, identifying 176 studies published between 1976 and 2006 using meta‐analysis methods on criminal justice topics. Characteristics of these 176 studies are coded and analyzed to identify trends in the use of meta‐analysis by criminal justice researchers, as well as to summarize distinctive variations in how it has been used. A comparison of criminal justice with meta‐analysis usage in other social and applied science fields suggests some hesitation in adopting the methodology.
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Notes
1. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2004 annual meetings of the American Society of Criminology. November 2004. Nashville, TN.
2. Complete listings of the published studies and the theses/dissertations included in this review, as well as the coding categories, are available online (as pdf files) at: http://www.ilstu.edu/~ewells/research/JQ2008-metaanalysis.htm