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 peerreviewed 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.