On the Evolving World of What Constitutes Qualitative Synthesis

Abstract

As the body of available qualitatively derived knowledge expands, there is increasing temptation to capitalize on it to generate knowledge synthesis products. Concurrently, in the wake of an ever-expanding enthusiasm for evidencebased practice knowledge in health care, scholars are facing pressure to forgo the more narrative or interpretive form of literature review in favor of reviews that are positioned as explicitly systematic. This has created a context in which both new and seasoned scholars are, in increasing numbers, working with extant bodies of qualitative literature in ways that counter the very motivations that drove health researchers into qualitative methods in the first place. In this commentary, I trace the evolution of this trend, illustrating how a reasonable original intent has taken a misguided turn in the context of competing understandings and priorities in health care knowledge development. On this basis, I propose a strategic direction for this journal as a leader in what constitutes the meaningful application of qualitative research methodological approaches, including that which purports to represent synthesis of available knowledge, for the purposes of addressing the inherently complex challenges of the health field.

Gratitude in Health Care: A Meta-narrative Review

“…Meta-narrative literature review is a method for synthesizing and conceptualizing research approaches to topics that have been studied by different groups of researchers (Wong et al, 2013). It is a semi-systematic approach that retains the interpretive engagement, inductive reasoning, and cross-interrogation of the narrative review for which Thorne (2019) has recently advocated. The meta-narrative method, originally proposed and developed by Greenhalgh et al (2004Greenhalgh et al ( , 2005, has proved useful for making sense of topics that transcend disciplinary boundaries.…”

Clinical encounters about obesity: Systematic review of patients' perspectives

“…Qualitative meta-synthesis has been criticised because, in summarising evidence across studies, it may obscure the important context of the original research. [29] However, a reflective integration of evidence from across qualitative studies can 'reveal a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of that which constitutes a larger theoretical whole'. [30] We believe we have been able to provide a richer overview of peoples' experience of excess weight discussions than any individual study by comparing findings across research settings and providing results that can be applied across a wide range of primary care settings.…”

Situating Preventive Action in a Moral and Clinical Context: A Qualitative Synthesis on Fall Prevention

“…Qualitative syntheses should transform information coming from primary studies and construct a "connected whole" (Thomas et al, 2017, p. 182). They transcend the sum of the parts; they should generate ideas providing higher and better understanding about the phenomenon under study (Sandelowski & Barroso, 2007;Thorne, 2017Thorne, , 2019.…”