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Search and Selection Procedures of Literature Reviews in Behavior Analysis
Seth A King1, Douglas Kostewicz2, Olivia Enders2
1College of Education, University of Iowa, 240 South Madison Street, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA.
Perspectives on Behavior Science
|December 31, 2020
Summary
This review of behavior analysis literature found narrative reviews remain common, unlike in other fields. Improved reporting of search methods is needed to enhance the validity and replicability of literature reviews.
Area of Science:
- Behavior analysis
- Scientific literature reviews
Background:
- Literature reviews are crucial for identifying effective interventions and assessing research progress.
- Transparency in literature searches increases the credibility of findings, especially in intervention research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the characteristics of search methods in behavior analysis literature reviews published between 1997 and 2017.
- To determine the frequency of narrative, systematic, and meta-analytic reviews over time.
- To examine review publication trends in specific journals and author reporting of search procedures.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 1,228 literature reviews from behavior analysis publications (1997-2017).
- Categorization of reviews into narrative, systematic, and meta-analytic types.
- Evaluation of reported literature search and selection procedures.
Main Results:
- Narrative reviews constituted the majority (51.30%), followed by systematic (31.51%) and meta-analytic (17.18%) reviews.
- Narrative reviews remained prevalent annually, diverging from trends in related fields like special education.
- While reviews showed strengths, reporting and execution of searches presented limitations.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of narrative reviews and issues in search reporting may impact the validity and replicability of behavior analysis literature reviews.
- Recommendations for improving search methodology reporting are discussed to enhance research rigor.
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