Research synthesis

A synthesis of research data is the summary of the outcomes of interest for a particular research question, taken from two or more previously reported studies. Research synthesis is to obtain a comprehensive (and unbiased) view of the available evidence, and is frequently used to make a judgement as to the quality and relevance to a current research question or decision problem. It enables researchers to create generalisations based on integrated empirical research. Depending on the type of data and amount of resources available, a research synthesis may be undertaken in a number of ways, e.g. a narrative summary or a formal meta-analysis.