Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice 

"The main focus of meta-analyses is to aggregate the statistical findings of different studies that assess the effectiveness of a particular intervention. A prime aim of the meta-analysis is to calculate the average strength of an individual study. (Rubin, 2008, p. 52)."

A meta-analysis is one of the best sources for answering evidence-based practice questions as to what intervention, program, or policy is most effective (Rubin, 2008).

Rubin, A. (2008). Practitioner's guide to using research for evidence-based practice. Wily: Hoboken, NJ.

You can search for meta-analyses in Social Services by adding the keyword "meta-analysis" to your search.

For example. you can type in the following sets of keywords:

• welfare AND meta-analysis
• AIDS AND prevention AND meta-analysis

PsycInfo is an excellent source for articles that deal with mental health issues and evidence-based practice. It has a limit feature that allows you to search only for meta-analyses. To find the Meta-Analyses limit feature, click on the methodology feature that is highlighted below:

 Medline is primarily a medical database, but it does include a significant number of articles on psychiatric and mental health issues. Like PsycInfo, it has a feature that allows you to limit your journal search to just Meta-Analyses.

After you click on Edit limits, select publication type, and Meta-Analyses.