University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
NMAHP Research Unit, Unit 13 Scion House, Stirling University Innovation Park, Stirling, FK9 4NF, UK.
BMC Med Res Methodol. 2019 Jan 31;19(1):25. doi: 10.1186/s12874-018-0600-0.
The aim of this study was to provide guidance to improve the completeness and clarity of meta-ethnography reporting.
Evidence-based policy and practice require robust evidence syntheses which can further understanding of people's experiences and associated social processes. Meta-ethnography is a rigorous seven-phase qualitative evidence synthesis methodology, developed by Noblit and Hare. Meta-ethnography is used widely in health research, but reporting is often poor quality and this discourages trust in and use of its findings. Meta-ethnography reporting guidance is needed to improve reporting quality.
The eMERGe study used a rigorous mixed-methods design and evidence-based methods to develop the novel reporting guidance and explanatory notes.
The study, conducted from 2015 to 2017, comprised of: (1) a methodological systematic review of guidance for meta-ethnography conduct and reporting; (2) a review and audit of published meta-ethnographies to identify good practice principles; (3) international, multidisciplinary consensus-building processes to agree guidance content; (4) innovative development of the guidance and explanatory notes.
Recommendations and good practice for all seven phases of meta-ethnography conduct and reporting were newly identified leading to 19 reporting criteria and accompanying detailed guidance.
The bespoke eMERGe Reporting Guidance, which incorporates new methodological developments and advances the methodology, can help researchers to report the important aspects of meta-ethnography. Use of the guidance should raise reporting quality. Better reporting could make assessments of confidence in the findings more robust and increase use of meta-ethnography outputs to improve practice, policy, and service user outcomes in health and other fields. This is the first tailored reporting guideline for meta-ethnography. This article is being simultaneously published in the following journals: Journal of Advanced Nursing, Psycho-oncology, Review of Education, and BMC Medical Research Methodology.
本研究旨在为提高元分析报告的完整性和清晰度提供指导。
循证政策和实践需要强有力的证据综合，以进一步了解人们的经验和相关的社会过程。元分析是一种由 Noblit 和 Hare 开发的严格的七阶段定性证据综合方法。元分析在健康研究中得到了广泛应用，但报告质量往往较差，这阻碍了人们对其研究结果的信任和使用。需要元分析报告指南来提高报告质量。
eMERGe 研究采用严格的混合方法设计和基于证据的方法制定了新的报告指南和说明。
该研究于 2015 年至 2017 年进行，包括：（1）对元分析进行方法学系统综述，以指导元分析的实施和报告；（2）对已发表的元分析进行审查和审计，以确定良好实践原则；（3）进行国际、多学科的共识建设过程，以达成指导内容；（4）创新性地开发指导和说明。
对元分析实施和报告的所有七个阶段的建议和良好实践进行了新的识别，从而产生了 19 个报告标准和详细的指导。
专门定制的 eMERGe 报告指南，纳入了新的方法学发展，并推进了该方法学，可帮助研究人员报告元分析的重要方面。使用该指南应能提高报告质量。更好的报告可以使对研究结果的信心评估更加稳健，并增加元分析结果的使用，以改善健康和其他领域的实践、政策和服务用户的结果。这是第一个专门针对元分析的报告指南。本文同时发表在以下期刊：《高级护理杂志》、《心理肿瘤学》、《教育评论》和《BMC 医学研究方法学》。
