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Article: The importance of data-selection criteria: meta-analyses of stream predation experiments.(Meta-Analysis in Ecology)
- Article from:
- Ecology
- Article date:
- June 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Ecological Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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INTRODUCTION
Meta-analysis holds considerable promise for the development of quantitative generalizations in ecology based on the combined evidence of experimental studies (Gurevitch et al. 1992, Sarnelle 1992, Osenberg et al. 1997). While it should be expected that meta-analytic generalizations may change over time as the experimental literature grows, it is less appreciated that multiple meta-analyses asking the same question and performed within a short span of time (so that the available literature has changed little) may produce conflicting conclusions. This problem has fueled criticism of meta-analysis in other fields (Slavin 1984, Abrami et al. 1988). A ...