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Meta-Analyses in Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Treatment Research

NCJ Number
187650
Journal
Addiction Volume: 95 Issue: 3 Dated: November 2000 Pages: S419-S438
Author(s)
David B. Wilson
Date Published
November 2000
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article describes the basic methods for conducting meta-analysis and criticizes 11 extant meta-analyses of alcohol and other drug abuse treatment programs.
Abstract
Meta-analysis is a quantitative method of synthesizing empirical evidence across a collection of related studies and addresses many of the weaknesses of traditional narrative forms of reviewing. Eight of the 11 meta-analyses criticized in this article used questionable methods and contributed little to understanding the effects of the programs under review. The article suggests establishment of an archive on alcohol and other drug abuse treatment services research. Researchers submitting studies to the archive would provide key information in a semi-structured format including: (1) an explicit description of methodology; (2) basic descriptive data for all variables; (3) sample size information at all measurement points; (4) description of study participants; (5) description of each treatment and comparison group; and (6) a full correlation matrix for multivariate studies. The article claims that such an archive would help with meta-analyses and provide a much clearer explication of the empirical work in alcohol and other drug treatment programs. Table, references