TYPES OF ERRORS IN SYNTHESIZING RESEARCH IN EDUCATION

Nine types of errors occurring in three stages of the process of synth esizing research are described and illustrated with examples from a re cent synthesis (Kagan, 1992) of research on teacher professional growt h. Errors can occur in the initial identification and collection of re ports of research, in the analysis of documents, and in the final stag e of reaching generalizations about the whole body of research. Types of errors include the exclusion of relevant literature, wrongly report ing details such as sample size, erroneously attributing findings to s tudies, and stating unwarranted conclusions about the research reviewe d. Implications for reviewers and users of reviews are considered.