Meta-analysis: A reflection on problems

Since 1977 there has been considerable debate regarding the relative efficacy of meta-analysis as a research methodology. The authors implemented a meta-analysis to examine the question of the nature of the association between self-perception and performance or achievements levels. The study (128 research studies; 1136 correlations) made us aware of the problems associated with designing and implementing a meta-analysis. This paper discussed in some detail the problems encountered, namely topic selection, the literature search, coding procedures, sampling the literature, the use of a common metric, the use of significance tests, costs and time involved, and publication.