THE USE OF METANALYSIS IN ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN THE FIELD OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

Objective: The aims of the present study were to investigate the use of metanalysis in scientific studies published in the field of physical education, as well as to describe their main characteristics. Methods: Searches were performed in the databases SciELO and LILACS using the terms “metanálise”, “meta análise”, “metanalysis” and “meta analysis”. Initially, 2,165 articles were found. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, seven articles were included in this review. The main characteristics of the articles included in this study were allocated into a table, with general characteristics about each paper (title, authors, year, main author’s university and country, language, classification, descriptors, aims and type of study) and data about methods (search and study selection, analysis of quality, data extraction, results and conclusions). Results: Overall, the included articles were published recently by authors (main authors) from Brazilian universities, and the methodological procedures adopted were reported in details, which is very important to the quality of an article. The search strategy also revealed that metanalyses have been little used in the field of physical education and that the published studies address varied and relevant topics to this area. Conclusion: Metanalysis has been little used in the field of physical education, suggesting a broad field for further research. The studies reported to use this methodological analysis are relevant to the field of physical education. DESCRIPTORS Physical Education and Training. Meta-Analysis. Research.