Qualitative evidence synthesis: applications, methods, challenges, and opportunities

Meta-synthesis or qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) is the counterpart of the meta-analysis, wherein the studies addressing qualitative research questions are systematically reviewed and synthesised. QES has a wide range of applications, particularly in fields where understanding complex human experiences, behaviours, and contexts are essential. QES facilitates in deciding the scope of outcomes relevant for the healthcare guidelines, assists the guideline development group in framing the recommendations, and guides the implementation of the interventions. The methodology of meta-synthesis and meta-analysis are similar till the stage of identification of the eligible studies, following all major steps of systematic reviews. This overview discusses the steps involved in undertaking the QES such as team formation, identification of research question, database search, screening of studies, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, commonly used synthesis methods, certainty assessment and the reporting guidelines. Tools and software used, challenges that are commonly encountered and the opportunities in the domain of QES are also explored in the review.