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Risk of bias and open science practices in systematic reviews of educational effectiveness: A meta-review
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3829-4169
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2871-9693
Linköping University, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1017-0025
2023 (English)In: Review of Education, E-ISSN 2049-6613, Vol. 11, no 3, article id e3443Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Abstract [en]

In order to produce the most reliable syntheses of the effectiveness of educational interventions, systematic reviews need to adhere to rigorous methodological standards. This meta-review investigated risk of bias occurring while conducting a systematic review and the presence of open science practices like data sharing and reproducibility of the review procedure, in recently published reviews in education. We included all systematic reviews of educational interventions, instructions and methods for all K-12 student populations in any school form with experimental or quasi-experimental designs (an active manipulation of the intervention) with comparisons and where the outcome variables were academic performance of any kind. We searched the database Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) through the years 2019–2021. In parallel we hand-searched four major educational review journals for systematic reviews: Educational Research Review (Elsevier), Educational Review (Taylor & Francis), Review of Education (Wiley), and Review of Educational Research (AERA). Systematic reviews were assessed with the risk of bias tool ROBIS and whether the studies had pre-registered protocols, shared primary research data, and whether a third party could reproduce search strings and details of where exactly primary research data were extracted. A total of 88 studies that matched our PICOS were included in this review; of these, 10 educational systematic reviews were judged as low risk of bias (approximately 11%) . The rest were classified as high risk of bias during a shortened ROBIS assessment or assessed as high risk or unclear risk of bias following a full ROBIS assessment. Of the 10 low risk of bias reviews, 6 had detailed their search sufficiently enough for a third party to reproduce, 3 reviews shared the data from primary studies, however none had specified how and from where exactly data from primary studies were extracted. The study shows that at least a small part of systematic reviews in education has a low risk of bias, but most systematic reviews in our set of studies have high risk of bias in their methodological procedure. There are still improvements in this field to be expected as even the low risk of bias reviews are not consistent regarding pre-registered protocols, data sharing, reproducibility of primary research data and reproducible search strings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2023. Vol. 11, no 3, article id e3443
Keywords [en]
education, meta-review, open science, reproducibility, risk of bias, systematic review
National Category
Educational Sciences
Research subject
Pedagogics and Educational Sciences; Pedagogics and Educational Sciences, Education
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-125850DOI: 10.1002/rev3.3443ISI: 001135375900005Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85178214449OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-125850DiVA, id: diva2:1816311
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2020-03430Available from: 2023-12-01 Created: 2023-12-01 Last updated: 2025-05-12Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Evidence in education: How metascience can improve the quality of evidence syntheses in educational psychology
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Evidence in education: How metascience can improve the quality of evidence syntheses in educational psychology
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This dissertation investigates how metascientific approaches can enhance the quality and reliability of evidence syntheses in educational psychology. Prompted by the replication crisis, widespread questionable research practices, and the growing dependence on systematic reviews and meta-analyses in education, this work critically examines current research standards and advances innovative solutions rooted in open science.

Study I evaluates the methodological validity and reproducibility of the influential research synthesis Visible Learning by John Hattie. The study reveals several methodological flaws that contest the assumptions of the findings and the failure of being able to reproduce the statistics serves as a warning example of the presence of the replication crisis. 

Study II evaluates the risk of bias and transparency in systematic reviews conducted in educational psychology. Alarmingly, most included systematic reviews were judged as high risk of bias and across the entire sample, there was a lack of data sharing, preregistered protocols, and reproducible primary research data. 

Study III is a proof of concept of a registered report in educational psychology, the study aims to investigate the evidence of a writing intervention by conducting a systematic review. By adhering to the state-of-the-art conducting standards in systematic reviews, this protocol covers all aspects needed to produce reliable evidence as well as being reproducible. 

In Study IV, an innovative open-source Community-Augmented Meta-Analysis combined with a database is developed. The study presents solutions to several well-known problems in systematic reviews by allowing the research community to update, store, calculate, and share educational interventional data in a convenient way.

The findings of the included studies highlight significant gaps in research rigor and transparency, underscoring the necessity of fundamental change to adhere to current standards and modern research practices. 

By incorporating methodological tools such as preregistration, open science, risk of bias assessments and FAIR data principles, this dissertation calls for a paradigm shift in the synthesis and application of evidence in educational psychology. Ultimately, it seeks to promote more trustworthy, transparent, and impactful research to better inform educational policy and practice.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Växjö: Linnaeus University Press, 2025
Series
Linnaeus University Dissertations ; 574/2025
Keywords
Metascience, Educational psychology, Open science, Methods, Statistics
National Category
Educational Sciences Psychology
Research subject
Social Sciences, Psychology; Pedagogics and Educational Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-138467 (URN)10.15626/LUD.574.2025 (DOI)978-91-8082-306-7 (ISBN)978-91-8082-307-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2025-06-13, Newton, Vejdes plats 6. 352 52, Växjö, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2020-03430
Available from: 2025-05-13 Created: 2025-05-12 Last updated: 2025-05-13Bibliographically approved

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Nordström, ThomasKalmendal, AndréBatinovic, Lucija

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