Final answer:
Systematic reviews that combine statistical results from multiple studies to synthesize findings are known as meta-analyses.
Step-by-step explanation:
Systematic reviews that combine statistical results from several similar quantitative studies are known as meta-analyses. This scholarly research approach involves a thorough evaluation of all existing studies on a particular topic, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview and synthesis of the research findings. By employing meta-analysis techniques, these reviews play an important role in consensus science, as they help establish a clear picture of the evidence on a subject by integrating the data points from separate studies into a unified analysis.
Meta-analyses are considered secondary sources since they assess and interpret previously published work rather than presenting new experimental data. However, their value is immense as they compile, compare, and summarize information from various credible sources, thus contributing to the foundation for new research. It’s crucial that these analyses are based on rigorous data, which in quantitative sociology and other fields, represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted and validated.
In the realm of science and medicine, where an extensive amount of research has been conducted on numerous topics, meta-analyses help in distilling this vast collection of scientific studies into actionable knowledge and clarifying the outcomes of different but related studies.