Research Synthesis Methodologies in Applied Linguistics

“Characterized by methodological rigor, transparent reporting, comprehensive coverage, and the aggregation of the totality of evidence, research synthesis has emerged as an important and independent research genre or paradigm in applied linguistics. Sin-Wang Chong’s edited volume presents a full repertoire of approaches to research synthesis, offering an extensive and in-depth discussion of the challenges, options, and strategies involved in each type of synthesis. The volume is poised to have a profound influence by providing guidance and direction that enable and empower research synthesists to summarize, evaluate, and integrate accumulated knowledge and evidence, thereby advancing the field in ways that would not otherwise be possible.”

“This volume convincingly demonstrates how research synthesis has gained considerable momentum through diverse methods and applications, offering an impressive variety of in-depth perspectives based on the contributors’ roles and expertise. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in how systematic approaches to reviewing the empirical literature, coupled with ethical and multilingual stances, facilitate efforts to evaluate theory, illuminate methodology, and inform practice across the field of applied linguistics. In this era of artificial intelligence, this book serves as a timely reminder of the need to reclaim the knowledge lost in information through collaborative human effort.”