Meta approaches in knowledge synthesis in nursing: A bibliometric analysis

Objective: To analyze the bibliometric patterns of meta-approaches use in nursing research literature. Methods: Descriptive, exploratory and historical bibliometrics analyses were used. The papers were harvested from the Web of Science Core Collection. Findings: The search resulted in 2065 publications. The trends in using most individual meta approaches show that the use of meta-analysis is increasing exponentially, the use of meta-synthesis is increasing linearly, while the use of meta-ethnography is constant in last 6 years. Most productive countries were United States of America, United Kingdom and Peoples Republic of China. Most publications were published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, International Journal of Nursing Studies, and Journal of Clinical Nursing. Twenty-seven percent of all publications were funded. Thirty-four meta approaches were identified. Discussion: The study revealed that the trend in the literature production is positive. Research community use of meta-approaches in nursing exhibit considerable growth. Regional concentration of literature production was observed. Cite this article: Kokol P. (2021, September/October). Meta approaches in knowledge synthesis in nursing: A bibliometric analysis. Nurs Outlook, 69(5), 815-825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.02.006.

Automated summary

This study conducted a bibliometric analysis on the use of meta-approaches in nursing research literature, revealing an exponential growth in the use of meta-analysis, a linear growth in the use of meta-synthesis, and a constant use of meta-ethnography. The most productive countries were the United States, United Kingdom, and China, with the top publications appearing in Journal of Advanced Nursing, International Journal of Nursing Studies, and Journal of Clinical Nursing.