Single paper meta‐analysis is unavoidable
Psych 🧠 - 452/500
Hello reader,
The article argues that when researchers run multiple studies within a single paper (a common practice in psychology and consumer research), they are implicitly conducting a meta-analysis.
Each study’s findings are not independent, they collectively shape the paper’s overall conclusion.
What is it?
Traditional statistical approaches often treat each study in isolation, but that ignores the fact that readers, reviewers, and authors naturally integrate evidence across them.
This means researchers should use formal meta-analytic methods, even within a single paper, to properly combine evidence.
Without this integration, researchers risk overstating effects, overlooking variability, and presenting an overly neat narrative of results.
Key Findings:
Single-paper meta-analysis is inevitable: Multiple studies in one paper always imply some synthesis.
Do it formally, not narratively: Statistical tools (effect size pooling, heterogeneity tests) are better than intuition.
Protects against false certainty: Meta-analytic integration reduces the risk of overstating findings.
Raises Research Standards: Encourages more transparent and replicable science in psychology and consumer behavior.
Applies Beyond Psychology: Any field with multi-study papers (medicine, marketing, education) benefits from this approach.
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What do I need to know:
Every multi-study paper is already a kind of meta-analysis (whether acknowledged or not).
Transparency is key: Authors should show how evidence is combined, not just narratively string studies together.
It prevents bias: Meta-analysis methods reveal when effects are inconsistent or weaker than they appear.
This is about rigor, not extra work: Doing it formally makes results more trustworthy and reduces overclaiming.
Source:
https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcpy.1462?campaign=wolearlyview