The concept of evaluation of evidence implies a procedure that controls and monitors the quality of provided service or intervention in nursing and requires evidence for further improvement. There are two fundamental methods to implement the evaluation of evidence in nursing: a systematic review and a meta-analysis. The first method is an appraisal and assessment of all research studies related to a particular clinical issue, while the second method is a statistical process that considers the data from individual studies (Fawcett, 2016). In addition, the two ways bear a range of contrasts and analogies which need to be analyzed and taken into account.
There are a few similarities and differences between the two methods which are used in the evaluation of evidence in nursing. The main similarity between the approaches is that both of them use a variety of individual research where they obtain the necessary information for further analyses and considerations. Moreover, sometimes, the systematic review may include the features of quantitative data, which is similar to the meta-analysis, and use the statistical approach to distinguish particular information.
The most striking difference between the two methods is their ideology and approaches which are applied in the evaluation of evidence. The basic concept of the systematic review includes an elaborate literature review with revealing peculiarities about the topic, guided by specific criteria. While the systematic review reminds a “traditional” approach to the evaluation of evidence, the meta-analysis uses numbers and integrates the data gained from theory-testing research (Smith & Parker 2015). Furthermore, the difference between the two methods is the type of information received in research: the systematic review investigates the collection of research papers and their content, whereas meta-analysis is usually used in correlational research.
References
Fawcett, J. (2016). Applying conceptual models of nursing: Quality improvement, research, and practice. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: FA Davis.