Abstract

AGUILAR, Ramiro. Historical and current approaches of research synthesis in plant sciences. Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. [online]. 2009, vol.44, n.1-2, pp.209-219. ISSN 1851-2372.

The progress of science has depended to a great extent on the ability of reaching general conclusions from a body of published research, making reviews essential to scientific development. Research reviews have provided the bases for conceptual syntheses and for development of general theories in many research areas of the natural sciences, as in the case of plant sciences. Historical approaches include narrative and "vote-counting" types of reviews, both of which present serious flaws that limit their ability to obtain robust generalizations. Currently, quantitative reviews such as metaanalyses are able to synthesize results from independent studies in a manner that is both objective and statistically defensible. Meta-analysis has been used to synthesize disparate research findings and identify patterns to arrive at conclusions unavailable to the researchers of the primary studies. Here I outline some of the most important features of meta-analysis, provide a state of the art of meta-analyses in plant sciences, and point out some future perspectives on its use. Hopefully, readers will gain interest and appreciation on meta-analytical techniques to arrive to meaningful generalizations in different areas of plant sciences.

Keywords : Research synthesis; History of reviews; Meta-analysis; Narrative reviews; Vote-counting; Quantitative reviews.

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