Final answer:
After determining a research question for a meta-analysis, a researcher should conduct a literature review, define inclusion and exclusion criteria, develop a data extraction strategy, and create a detailed meta-analysis protocol.
Step-by-step explanation:
After identifying the research question to be tested for a meta-analysis, the next task a researcher would typically complete involves thorough planning of the study's design and methodology. This involves several steps:
- Conducting a comprehensive literature review to gather existing research that pertains to the research question. This step is crucial as it informs the researcher of the current state of research and helps in identifying the relevant studies to include in the meta-analysis.
- Establishing clear inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies to be considered in the analysis. This helps in filtering out the studies that do not meet the quality standards or relevance required for the research.
- Developing a data extraction strategy, where the researcher decides what kind of data needs to be extracted from the studies to sufficiently answer the research question.
- Creating a detailed protocol for the meta-analysis, which will guide the analysis process and ensure consistency and objectivity in the review.
Addressing these tasks is essential for conducting a successful meta-analysis, as they lay the foundation for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data from the selected studies.