Some reflections on combining meta-analysis and structural equation modeling

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.