UK, European, and American contributors in health science and research, educational research, social policy, and medicine describe methods for qualitative evidence synthesis--that is, methods that have been developed with the aim of synthesizing primary studies and reviewing qualitative literature. The book guides readers through factors to consider as they decide which approach to adopt and gives worked examples of different approaches. Although examples are from the field of healthcare, the ideas and methods can be used by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from any discipline. Some of the synthesis methods presented are meant to build theory and deepen understanding, while others have been created to develop lines of action for policy and practice or to review the current state of the art on a particular topic. The book begins with an introduction to meta-synthesis research, then covers six approaches: meta-aggregation, meta-ethnography, critical interpretive synthesis, realist review, mixed methods synthesis, and Bayesian approaches to the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative research findings. Hannes is affiliated with the Center for Methodology of Educational Research at K. U. Leuven, Belgium. Lockwood is affiliated with the University of Adelaide, Australia. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) A considerable number of journal publications using a range of qualitative synthesis approaches has been published. Mary Dixon-Woods and colleagues (Mary Dixon-Woods, Booth, & Sutton, 2007) identified 42 qualitative evidence synthesis papers published in health care literature between 1990 and 2004. An ongoing update by Hannes and Macaitis (2010)identified around 100 additional qualitative or mixed methods syntheses. Yet these generally lack a clear, detailed description of what was done and why (Greenhalgh et al, 2007; McInnes & Wimpenny, 2008) . Choices are most commonly influenced by what others have successfully used in the past or by a particular school of thought (Atkins et al, 2008; Britten et al, 2002). This is a substantive limitation.This book brings balance to the options available to researchers, including approaches that have not had a substantial uptake among researchers. It provides arguments for when and why researchers or other parties of interest should opt for a certain approach to synthesis, which challenges they might face in adopting it and what the potential strengths and weaknesses are compared with other approaches.This book acts as a resource for readers who would otherwise have to piece together the methodology from a range of journal articles. In addition, it should stimulate further development and documentation of synthesis methodology in a field that is characterized by diversity.
