A systematic review and "meta-study" of meta-analytical approaches to the human dimensions of environmental change

Abstract

The human dimensions of environmental change across various spatial and temporal scales have formed a fast-growing field of study in the past decades. Given the large accumulation of scientific studies on this topic, a logical research question is whether we can draw out common patterns of causal relationships from this diverse body of literature. Meta-analysis provides a particularly useful tool for summarizing and integrating results across studies. Although there has been a growing number of meta-studies on the interrelationships between social and environmental changes, meta-analysis as a research strategy is still relatively underused in this field. Additionally, few studies have systematically examined the set of meta-analytical methods suitable to investigate relevant research questions. We used a meta-analysis framework to review and extract data on analytical approaches from 43 meta-studies published in selected peer-reviewed environmental social science journals during 2000–2014. The analysis revealed general patterns of research topics and analysis procedures, as well as associations between study characteristics and specific meta-analytical methods. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the current use and further development of the meta-analysis strategy in interdisciplinary human dimensions research.