Some reflections on combining meta‐analysis and structural equation modeling

Abstract

Meta‐analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) are 2 of the most prominent statistical techniques employed in the behavioral, medical, and social sciences. They each have their own well‐established research communities, terminologies, statistical models, software packages, and journals (Research Synthesis Methods and Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal). In this paper, I will provide some personal reflections on combining meta‐analysis and SEM in the forms of meta‐analytic SEM and SEM‐based meta‐analysis. The critical contributions of Becker (1992), Shadish (1992), and Viswesvaran and Ones (1995) in the early development of meta‐analytic SEM are highlighted. Another goal of the paper is to illustrate how meta‐analysis can be extended and integrated with other techniques to address new research questions such as the analysis of Big Data. I hope that this paper may stimulate more research development in the area of combining meta‐analysis and SEM.