UCLA

Research syntheses have become an increasingly popular approach for summarizing primary research. The broad range of publications, conference presentations, journals, and books dedicated to research syntheses speaks to this point. Over the past twenty years, interest in mixed methods syntheses has steadily grown. Yet, despite the growing array of approaches for mixing methods, published applications of mixed methods syntheses are to this date few and far between. The proposed dissertation steps into this gap by illustrating the practical application of meta-modeling—a mixed methods synthesis approach. The proposed methodology structures the synthesis around the development of a meta-model and integrates findings from both effectiveness and implementation studies to determine and explain program effects. This meta-modeling does double-duty: It allows for a more nuanced appreciation of program effectiveness and allows for a better understanding of program components generating the effects.