A METAANALYTIC METHOD FOR TESTING HYPOTHESES ABOUT CLUSTERS OF DECISION-MAKERS

Meta-analytic methods are adapted to the task of testing hypotheses ab out clusters of decision makers, and an empirical illustration of thes e methods is presented. These methods have a number of advantages. Met a-analytic methods enable the researcher to (a) hypothesize about fact ors which influence cue weights and empirically test their moderating influences, (b) estimate the true relative weight from the observed re lative weight after correcting for statistical artifacts, and (c) part ition the variability in the observed relative weights across decision makers into variability across decision makers caused by variations i n the true relative weights and the variability across decision makers caused by statistical artifacts. Finally, these methods facilitate in tegration of the results of individual studies without the necessity f or the raw data employed in the individual studies. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.