Background and Objectives: Meta-analysis is a new paradigm different from qualitative, metaphorical, and systematic review. The subjectivity of the implemented studies, the existence of heterogeneity and contradiction in the results of studies and the interpretation of the results in comparison with quantitative research have been the reasons for the formation of the meta-analysis method. Some researchers believe that in 1970s the research in the area of social science and investigating the social and cultural issues faced some challenges in regards with methodology. These challenges could be raised because of subjectivity of research, ambiguities in the results of different pieces of research, ineffective relation between the results of studies and political guidelines, intercreativity of results in comparison with quantitative research are the main reasons of these challenges. Some researchers make a signs of the development of higher education and the explosion of research reports as the reason of re-thinking about new paradigm in the methodology of social science studies in 1970s. One of the solution for this problem, was the using of mixed methodologies for the integrating of results of related pieces of research.
Methodology: The aim of this research was to investigate the theoretical foundations of Meta-analysis methodology. This paper is an analytical overview that has been developed using the documentary methodology and theoretical sources. In this research, firstly, information resources and researches in the field of meta-analysis, including articles, theses, books and web pages were identified. Then, the collected data were studied and analyzed using a descriptive-analytical approach. Finally, the results of the study were analyzed analytically in comparison with information science and science researches.
Findings: The meta-analysis method was proposed in 1967 with the aim of integrating and integrating the studies carried out in the field of social, cultural and behavioral analysis using statistical methods. In addition, systematic review, metaphysics, transcendence, and metadata are equivalent meta-analytic terms, which are fundamentally different in nature and merely beyond which qualitative research is combined and their similarities and differences are compared, their findings are translated into each other and interpreted New from their collection. Research has shown that heterogeneity of publications, heterogeneity, incomplete data, availability and availability of early-qualifying studies and studies in other languages are the most important issues and strategies for solving meta-analysis problems in information science and science, and meta-analysis in this field is rarely used. Is located. Studies in information science and science show that in terms of volume, statistical properties and quality, the necessary framework for the implementation of meta-analysis studies in this field is provided and the meta-analysis is an appropriate opportunity for scholars of this science to integrate the results of studies, develop existing theories, create new theories And provided comprehensive interpretations of the phenomena examined. The research also showed that there is no limit to the introduction of studies into the meta-analysis, and the number of studies included in the composition depends on the subject matter of the research and the goal, so that if a researcher examines a phenomenon based on the very personal experience of the subjects studied, Few studies are sufficient, but more studies are needed to measure more common phenomena.
Discussion: Information science and science as one of the branches of social sciences have a large amount of quantitative and qualitative research, and in practice there is a weak link between the results of these studies and its policies and policies. Studies in the field of information science and science have often been reviewed in the form of a meta-analysis. Researchers of this science use the systematic review method to collect raw data, to diagnose, integrate, and express simple and sequential expressions of research results. However, the number and quality of research done and the contradiction and heterogeneity in their results have made the use of the meta-analysis method more necessary. Considering that, on the one hand, the quantitative and qualitative researches carried out in the field of information science and science, taking into account the meta-criteria criteria, have been suitable conditions for entering meta-class studies, and, on the other hand, it is possible to employ a wide range of statistical methods in meta-analysis such as the size of the effect, Determining the significance level and deviation from the standard of effect size. Therefore, the field for researchers in this science is provided to integrate the results of studies, develop existing theories, create new theories, strengthen the certainty of cause and effect relationship, and provide comprehensive interpretations of the phenomena examined. Also, heterogeneity of studies, lack of consistency, incomplete data, access to early studies, and quantitative and qualitative data on the progress of knowledge and information science experts in the use of meta-analysis, should be addressed further.