ABSTRACT

In experimental research, meta-analysis refers to the practice of combining the results of true or quasi-experiments and statistically bringing meaning to the collective body of data. Because of the paucity of experimental research in writing center studies, strictly defined meta-analyses are nonexistent. However, this chapter shows that when the definition of meta-analysis is broadened and the requirement for statistical analysis is removed, then in fact a productive version of meta-analysis has indeed been used to make knowledge in writing centers. Meta-analysis as a writing center method began emerging around 2011, following the field’s embracing of RAD research. The chapter defines this new version of meta-analysis and shows how the method is used to compile writing center research, to track trends across the texts, and to analyze the results in order to better understand how we generate knowledge in our field. The chapter encourages the growth of meta-analyses in writing center studies as a way for the field to promote aggregable research and to make findings more generalizable across the diverse contexts of writing center practice.