Research Synthesis

Research synthesis techniques such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become standard methods for aggregating the results from thematically related research in psychology. They can be used to describe the state of the art in a research field, to test and/or compare theories, and to derive conclusions about the effectiveness of interventions.

Ideally, research syntheses use transparent procedures to find, evaluate, and aggregate the results of relevant research. Procedures are explicitly defined in advance to ensure that all steps are transparent and replicable. This practice is designed to minimize bias and increase the trustworthiness of findings. Consequently, well-performed research syntheses may decisively contribute to shaping and/or resolving hotspot debates in psychology and beyond. The overall aim of this conference is to address hotspot topics in all subfields of psychology and related areas with the aid of research synthesis methods. The topics covered may address:

• Systematic reviews aimed at identifying hotspot topics in psychology.
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on topics currently being debated in any subfield of psychology.
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses contributing to the recent discussion about replicability, transparency, and research integrity in psychology.
• Meta-analytic replications and extensions of previously published syntheses, for example, by applying more recent approaches and/or by including more recent primary studies.
• Methodological advances in research synthesis methods relevant for any subfield of psychology, such as, for instance, meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), individual person meta-analysis (IPD), network meta-analysis, to name a few.
• Demonstrations and tools to assist in data extraction for meta-analysis.
• Demonstrations and tools facilitating community-augmented meta-analysis.
• Quality-appraisal systems for primary, secondary, and meta-analytic studies.

Publication opportunities
We would like to point conference participants to the Hotspots in Psychology - 2022 Edition. People interested are asked to submit a manuscript to this topical Issue of the Zeitschrift für Psychologie.