META – ANALYSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHES (REVIEW)

Abstract

This article aimed to discuss the Meta- analysis and its use in agriculturalresearch. This analysis carefully reviews the results that have already been published; it works on organizing, integrating and scientific evaluation of previous researches and studies on a specific topic. It is also a statistical analytical approach aimed at interpreting the results of researches collected from multiple studies, it helps in making decisions, and its purpose is statistical integration between the results taken from a large community through several researches on different samples derived from the same community. It is a well-established technique in the natural, medical andpsychological sciences, and it was used recently in the field of economics. It is a technique that differs from others; it has its methods, steps and quantitative procedures. Recently, Meta-analysis was considered one of the objective and solid methods in agriculture. Although in cross-sectional agricultural researches there are difficulties due to different conditions and environments, yet Meta- Analysis has become an inevitable method, as it can serve as a summary or a base for data and results that help researchers and determine their research path and direction. It helps decision makers and policy makers as it puts in their hands a large number of results and conclusions.