Off The Shelf

Often times I get calls from learners who want an overview of a topic or perhaps a theory. They are inclined to turn to journal articles.  However journal articles tend to focus on very specific questions and often do not have the broad overview you may be looking for.  So where do you turn?

The Library has a database called Gale Virtual Reference that has many subject specific encyclopedias in areas such as education, psychology, business, criminology and many other areas. The articles in these encyclopedias are often lengthy and written by experts in the field. For example if you do a search under the words “research methods” (putting the words in quotation marks to search as a phrase) one of the many articles that comes up is from the Encyclopedia of  Education.  It is 18 pages long and gives a good overview of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research.

So if you are having trouble understanding a concept and need an overview or definition this is a great place to start. Reading the article will also give ideas for other words that describe the concept and that you may want to use in searching for further information.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

If you have other questions about this resource Ask-a-Librarian.

Robin

Erin’s blog post What makes that analysis so meta? earlier this month sparked an interest to provide some further information and examples of this quantitative method of research.

In our library database Gale Virtual Reference Library a search of Meta-analysis finds several encyclopedia entries that explain in detail more about this technique. Click on the article title link to access these entries in Gale..

• Huffcutt, Allen. (2007). Meta-Analysis. In Steven Rogelberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 2. (480-483). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library.
• Last, John M. (2002). Meta-Analysis. In Lester Breslow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Public Health, Vol. 3. (764-765). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Gale Virtual Reference Library.

And here are some article examples using the meta-analysis research method roughly categorized by school:

Psychology

• Malouff, J., Thorsteinsson, E., Schutte, N., & Rooke, S. (2009, July). Effects of Vicarious Punishment: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of General Psychology, 136(3), 271-286. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Education

• Williams, S. (2006, September). The Effectiveness of Distance Education in Allied Health Science Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Outcomes. American Journal of Distance Education, 20(3), 127-141. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1207/s15389286ajde2003_2

Human Services/Public Service Leadership

• Chappell, C. (2004, June). Post-Secondary Correctional Education and Recidivism: A Meta-Analysis of Research Conducted 1990-1999. Journal of Correctional Education, 55(2), 148-169. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
• Leschied, A., Chiodo, D., Nowicki, E., & Rodger, S. (2008, July). Childhood Predictors of Adult Criminality: A Meta-Analysis Drawn from the Prospective Longitudinal Literature. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 50(4), 435-467. Retrieved June 23, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

Business

• Forza, C., & Nuzzo, F. (1998, March). Meta-analysis applied to operations management: summarizing the results of empirical research. International Journal of Production Research, 36(3), 837-861. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1080/002075498193714

Technology

• Hannay, J., Dybå, T., Arisholm, E., & Sjøberg, D. (2009, July). The effectiveness of pair programming: A meta-analysis. Information & Software Technology, 51(7), 1110-1122. Retrieved June 23, 2009, doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2009.02.001

Some easy reading for you during quarter break. I’m sure if you brought one of these articles to your 4th of July bash of choice you’d be the hit of the party!

-Sommer