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A Beginner’s Guide to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

8 Systematic Review Data Analysis

This chapter is going to be really short. Why? Well, because to analyze systematic review data, we’re typically looking for themes in our data. To be honest, I don’t have much more to say than that. However, there are a couple things I recommend:

  • When I start analyzing my data, I make a spreadsheet for each research question, and move only the relevant data there. Be sure to keep your master coding form intact though!

  • Looking for patterns can be difficult. Remember that many spreadsheet programs have sorting features that may help you identify surface-level patterns.

  • Cross-tabulation can be a great way to look for interesting interactions between data points.

And that’s really all I have to say about it. You’re really looking for patterns in relation to each research question. If you need more guidance than that, I suggest reviewing some of the wonderful resources that have been written about analyzing qualitative data with, for example, content analysis or thematic analysis. They may be helpful for getting started if you feel overwhelmed by your data.