Cumulative Knowledge Base Research Articles

Representation of Social Determinants of Health terminology in medical subject headings: impact of added terms.

To enhance and evaluate the quality of PubMed search results for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) through the addition of new SDoH terms to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). High priority SDoH terms and definitions were collated from authoritative sources, curated based on publication frequencies, and refined by subject matter experts. Descriptive analyses were used to investigate how PubMed search details and best match results were affected by the addition of SDoH concepts to MeSH. Three information retrieval metrics (Precision, Recall, and F measure) were used to quantitatively assess the accuracy of PubMed search results. Pre- and post-update documents were clustered into topic areas using a Natural Language Processing pipeline, and SDoH relevancy assessed. Addition of 35 SDoH terms to MeSH resulted in more accurate algorithmic translations of search terms and more reliable best match results. The Precision, Recall, and F measures of post-update results were significantly higher than those of pre-update results. The percentage of retrieved publications belonging to SDoH clusters was significantly greater in the post- than pre-update searches. This evaluation confirms that inclusion of new SDoH terms in MeSH can lead to qualitative and quantitative enhancements in PubMed search retrievals. It demonstrates the methodology for and impact of suggesting new terms for MeSH indexing. It provides a foundation for future efforts across behavioral and social science research (BSSR) domains. Improving the representation of BSSR terminology in MeSH can improve PubMed search results, thereby enhancing the ability of investigators and clinicians to build and utilize a cumulative BSSR knowledge base.

STRUCTURAL MANAGEMENT COMPETENCE COMPONENTS OF FUTURE OFFICERS

Abstract: the article substantiates and defines the structure of managerial competence for future officers, comprising the following components: motivational (involving a sustained interest of the future officer in managerial activities based on humanism principles), cognitive (characterized by a cumulative knowledge base), functional (enabling the execution of managerial activities), pedagogical (demonstrating readiness to educate and nurture military personnel), and personal component (encompassing the formation of a set of professionally important qualities).

One finding is no finding: Toward a replication culture in family business research

Our goal is to foster the development of a healthy replication culture in family business research. Replication, which advances theory by confronting existing understanding with new evidence, is of paramount importance in creating a meaningful cumulative knowledge base. In the family business field, however, as in many other fields within the broader management literature, dedicated replications are largely absent. After a brief analysis of the likely causes and consequences of our collective avoidance of replication studies, we examine four types of replication of particular importance to the field and provide guidelines and recommendations for family business scholars interested in conducting such research. We invite journals and their editors to reflect on the role they can play in changing the incentive structures to conduct and submit useful replication studies and provide actionable suggestions for improvement. We illustrate contemporary examples of family business knowledge advancement through replication research.

Improving theory use in social marketing: the TITE four-step theory application process

PurposeTheory remains underused in social marketing despite many potential benefits that may arise if theory is concretely and consistently applied. In response to ongoing calls for standardised frameworks and methods, this study aims to present a four-step theory application process with the aim of supporting improved theory use across the entire social marketing process.Design/methodology/approachThe role and importance of theory application in behaviour change is outlined alongside an integrative review and critical analysis of theory application in social marketing. To address key challenges impeding rigorous theory use, the theory selection, iterative schematisation, theory testing and explicit reporting of theory use (TITE) four-step theory application process is proposed. Evidence-based guidance, current best practice examples, and a worked example are provided to illustrate how the TITE process may be initially followed.FindingsLow levels and poor quality of theory use suggest social marketing researchers and practitioners need further support in rigorously applying theories across the life of an intervention. The TITE process leverages the known benefits of theory use and capitalises on the reciprocal relationship that may be enacted between theory selection, iterative schematisation, theory testing and explicit reporting of theory use.Research limitations/implicationsThe TITE process delivers a standardised framework that aims to stimulate rigorous theory application and explicit reporting of theory use in social marketing. Clear theory application and reporting will permit a more fine-grained understanding of intervention effectiveness to be established by shifting away from a simple dichotomous view of effectiveness (success or failure) to unpacking the “active ingredients” contributing to observed outcomes.Practical implicationsThe evidence-based guidance and best practice examples provided for each step of the TITE process will increase the accessibility and usability of theory among practitioners. With time the TITE process will support practitioners by delivering a robust theory base that can be reliably followed to further extend on social marketing’s effectiveness.Originality/valueThis paper draws on interdisciplinary methods and resources to propose a standardised framework – the TITE process – designed to support rigorous theory application and explicit reporting of theory use in social marketing. Refinement, uptake and widespread implementation of the TITE process will improve theory use and support the creation of a shared language, thereby advancing social marketing’s cumulative knowledge base over time.

Toward a Science of Failure Analysis: A Narrative Review

When a researcher tests an educational program, product, or policy in a randomized controlled trial and detects a significant effect on an outcome, the intervention is usually classified as something that “works.” When expected effects are not found, there is seldom an orderly and transparent analysis of plausible reasons why. Accumulating and learning from possible failure mechanisms is not standard practice in education research, and it is not common to design interventions with causes of failure in mind. This chapter develops Boruch and Ruby’s proposition that the education sciences would benefit from a systematic approach to the study of failure. We review and taxonomize recent reports of large-scale randomized controlled trials in K–12 schooling that yielded at least one null or negative major outcome, including the nature of the event and reasons (if provided) for why it occurred. Our purpose is to introduce a broad framework for thinking about educational interventions that do not produce expected effects and seed a cumulative knowledge base on when, how, and why interventions do not reach expectations. The reasons why an individual intervention fails to elicit an outcome are not straightforward, but themes emerge when researchers’ reports are synthesized.

Reconciling nature, people and policy in the mangrove social-ecological system through the adaptive cycle heuristic

While mangroves are increasingly described as social-ecological systems (SESs), performing SES research is so much more than merely documenting local resource utilisation patterns in case studies. The aim of this paper is to review and show how ecological, human and institutional resilience could be understood and fostered in an era of uncertainty, through the adaptive cycle (AC) heuristic. Uncertainties come in many forms and shapes: climate change, social and economic dynamics, natural disasters, political and institutional disruption and ever-increasing public demands for participation. Social-ecological studies form windows of experimentation that can provide insights beyond their case-specific context. In order to synthesise and structure the cumulative knowledge base arising from existing and future studies, the need for a suitable overarching framework arose. Here, the AC heuristic represents the connectedness between variables of the mangrove SES versus the mangrove's accumulated capital (natural, built, human and social). We posit that the AC heuristic can be used to interpret spatial and temporal changes (ecological, social, economic, political) in mangrove SESs and we exemplify it by using the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as well as a century-long silviculture case. The AC, combined with the SES scheme, allows integration of the spato-temporal dynamics and the multi-dimensional character of mangrove SESs. We also reviewed the ecosystem functions, services and disservices of mangrove SESs, linking each of them to SES capital and variable (fast or slow) attributes, which in turn are closely linked to the different axes and phases of the AC. We call upon mangrove scientists from the natural, applied, social and human sciences to join forces in fitting diversified empirical data from multiple case studies around the world to the AC heuristic. The aim is to reflect on and understand such complex dynamic systems with stakeholders having various (mutual) relationships at risk of breaking down, and to prepare for interactive adaptive planning for mangrove forests.

End-of-life trajectory of coping and self-care of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A meta-synthesis using meta-ethnography.

This study aimed to extract patient narratives regarding the end-of-life trajectory of their self-care and coping experiences as patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and to use meta-ethnography to discover common metaphors of their experience in order to inform the development of nursing interventions. A comprehensive search of qualitative research using electronic databases, in English and Japanese, regarding patients with IPF, identified four articles. The meta-ethnography approach followed seven steps, which provided a synthesis of the phenomena from both comparative and cumulative analyses of the qualitative data. Seven key concepts and metaphors were synthesized: (i) an extended period before obtaining a diagnosis ("Waiting for the other shoe to drop"); (ii) suffering as the pathway of illness ("Gloom and doom"); (iii) the burden of the symptoms and loss of independence ("Staggering under the load"); (iv) acceptance and living with the restrictions of home oxygen therapy ("A double-edged sword"); (v) changes in the family role ("All in the same boat"); (vi) existential suffering ("Dead-end streets and rays of hope"); and (vii) challenges to maintain independent living ("Making the best of it"). Reciprocal, refutational, and line-of-argument modes of synthesis revealed the relationships of the metaphors. Meta-ethnography provided a mechanism for a cumulative knowledge base for necessary nursing interventions. The critical nursing interventions were: the relief of symptoms, particularly dyspnea and cough; coordinating lifestyle changes; providing psychological support for living with an illness beginning from the time of diagnosis; and carefully starting the end-of-life discussions with patients and families.

Cumulative learning and sustained engagement in an introduction to accounting course

PurposeDue to its technical focus, the introductory accounting course has a hierarchical knowledge structure that requires students to master and integrate abstract knowledge which builds on itself over time. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between engagement and examination performance for students enrolled in a hierarchically structured course.Design/methodology/approachThis research involves a retrospective study of an introduction to accounting course examining the relationship between increased engagement and examination performance. Students are provided opportunities for engagement through assigned homework and optional ungraded assignments. Performance is measured by scores on each of three examinations conducted throughout the semester.FindingsThe study finds that additional engagement in assignments has no significant impact on mid-semester examination performance; however, sustained engagement throughout the semester has a cumulative impact on final examination performance. Moreover, students that perform well on mid-semester examinations do not benefit from additional engagement, whereas students that perform poorly on the mid-semester examinations exhibit substantially higher final examination scores from sustained engagement.Practical implicationsThis study illustrates the complex interplay between engagement and performance and the timing of performance gains. The implication for educators is that increased sustained engagement is likely to result in increased but delayed student performance gains in disciplines with hierarchical knowledge structures.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature in its examination of the timing of performance benefits gained from increased engagement in courses with a cumulative knowledge base.

The Lexicon of Drug Abuse

We review the historical changes that occurred as a result of the formation of the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence from its 1949 inception at the World Health Organization of the United Nations. Philosophical, scientific, and vernacular changes occurred over the years in response to the growing scientific literature base appearing in peer-reviewed journals. Drug dependencies of all known and popular drugs-of-abuse became the focus of many of the international drug control policy meetings from the early 1960s to today. However, despite the growing body of literature and cumulative knowledge base, there is still no general consensus on the language we use to discuss our science.

BIM for building refurbishment and maintenance: current status and research directions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a strategic overview of the current literature on “Building information modelling (BIM) for Building Refurbishment and Maintenance” to unfold the factors behind the relative underdeveloped state of the field and to contribute to the development of a more cumulative knowledge base by presenting the current status and suggesting future directions for research. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review of the literature has been undertaken by classifying and mapping the literature, identifying the input-output relations, exhibiting the areas focused on by researchers as well as neglected ones and by indicating the trends in research through the years. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis is used in the study to better interpret the existing studies in a holistic perspective. Findings – Although the need for BIM in facility management (FM) has been acknowledged by researchers and practitioners, the results highlight that studies related to BIM applications in maintenance and especially refurbishment are relatively recent. However, the trend in published articles shows that the interest is continuously growing. Existing research in this field can be clustered in the following subtopics: (1) building survey and as-built BIM, (2) modelling and managing energy, (3) design assessment, (4) access to and integration of maintenance information and knowledge, and (5) information exchange and interoperability. Originality/value – The paper identifies the gaps in the research domain that hinders a widespread adoption of BIM in refurbishment and maintenance stages and introduces roadmaps to surmount the challenges identified in each specific subtopic of the field.

On the Usefulness of “Value” in the Definition of Creativity

Current definitions of creativity almost universally include value or a close cognate as one of the criteria. This article discusses two problems that arise as the result of the inclusion of value in those definitions. First, there is a conflict between the researchers’ definition of the relevant phenomena and that used in the ordinary language, as well as a conflict between the ordinary understanding of the relevant concepts and the way they are used by researchers. Such conflicts may result in research being ignored or rejected by other researchers and policy makers. Second, the value attributed to some product is the result of a subjective judgment, which is subject to change over generations. Such changes have the consequence of making it impossible to develop a cumulative knowledge base in the study of creativity. In response to those problems, an alternative definition of creative, based on the criteria of intentional novelty, and not including value in any form, is discussed. In addition, positive reasons for adopting that definition are presented.

CODEX: a next-generation sequencing experiment database for the haematopoietic and embryonic stem cell communities.

CODEX (http://codex.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/) is a user-friendly database for the direct access and interrogation of publicly available next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, specifically aimed at experimental biologists. In an era of multi-centre genomic dataset generation, CODEX provides a single database where these samples are collected, uniformly processed and vetted. The main drive of CODEX is to provide the wider scientific community with instant access to high-quality NGS data, which, irrespective of the publishing laboratory, is directly comparable. CODEX allows users to immediately visualize or download processed datasets, or compare user-generated data against the database's cumulative knowledge-base. CODEX contains four types of NGS experiments: transcription factor chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-Seq), histone modification ChIP-Seq, DNase-Seq and RNA-Seq. These are largely encompassed within two specialized repositories, HAEMCODE and ESCODE, which are focused on haematopoiesis and embryonic stem cell samples, respectively. To date, CODEX contains over 1000 samples, including 221 unique TFs and 93 unique cell types. CODEX therefore provides one of the most complete resources of publicly available NGS data for the direct interrogation of transcriptional programmes that regulate cellular identity and fate in the context of mammalian development, homeostasis and disease.

Rethinking College Student Retention by John M. Braxton et al. (review)

Reviewed by: Rethinking College Student Retention by John M. Braxton et al. Alicia C. Dowd, Associate Professor John M. Braxton, William R. Doyle, Harold V. Hartley III, Amy S. Hirschy, Willis A. Jones, and Michael K. McLendon. Rethinking College Student Retention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014. 293 pp. Hardcover: $45.00. ISBN: 978047090770-2. In Rethinking College Student Retention, John Braxton leads a team of researchers to investigate and build on the empirical support for Vincent Tinto’s “interactionalist” theory of student retention. With co-authors William Doyle, Harold Hartley, Amy Hirschy, Willis Jones, and Michael McLendon, Braxton assesses extant evidence for the positive relationship between the construct of “social integration” and near-term reenrollment of students in college. The research team draws on its published work and that of others to propose modifications to Tinto’s theory, which they describe as “paradigmatic” (2014, p. 3). The authors do a service to scholars by summarizing the findings of a generation of research between the covers of one book. Recognizing that the external environment and the nature of a campus community differ by institutional type, this text examines a retention model for students enrolled at residential colleges and another for students at commuter colleges and universities. Revisions to Tinto’s residential model of student persistence focus on identifying factors that “function as antecedents of social integration” (p. 84). The commuter student model takes student entry characteristics such as motivation, control, self-efficacy, empathy, and “anticipatory socialization” as the starting point (p. 111). The objective of synthesis in this book is to provide strong guidance for institutional action based on the “explanatory power of empirically tested theory” and a “rock-bed of findings of empirical research” (p. 3). Rethinking College Student Retention has an inverted structure in which Part 1 sets the policy context and presents recommendations; Part 2 presents the theoretical model and research design; and Part 3 summarizes the findings. The findings conclude with a six-point summary judgment of the cumulative knowledge base produced by empirical studies framed by Tinto’s original model and by these revised models. The details of the statistical analyses, variables, and empirical results that are the basis of the authors’ judgments appear in technical appendixes. This chapter structure, with an exhaustive set of recommendations for state policymakers in Chapter 2 and recommendations for institutional policy and practice in Chapter 3, highlights the book’s appeal to policy and practitioner audiences. The authors certainly include higher education researchers among their intended readers. The later sections will draw in those who have followed the decades-long development, from Tinto’s first journal article on the subject of undergraduate student retention (1975) to his later book-length treatments (Tinto 1987, 1997, 2012). Unlike Reworking the Student Departure Puzzle (2000), Braxton’s (2000) earlier edited book that brought together authors with diverse perspectives to directly debate the validity of the interactionalist model, Rethinking College Student Retention seeks synthesizing coherence. The authors use a technique they describe as “analytical cascading” to sift through decades of research—much of it their own—to support decisions about which theoretical propositions and variables to include in their final revised models. Analytical cascading, they explain, “entails empirically identifying influences on those theoretically based factors . . . [that] shape student persistence decisions” (p. 5). It “implies discovering what factors shape the environment for improving student persistence decisions in the manner specified by theory” (p. 5). The purpose is to formulate “levers of action” (p. 3). Using analytical cascading, the authors assess 13 testable propositions of Tinto’s 1975 statement of the interactionalist theory (p. 75), using the earliest formulation due to its alignment with the bulk of the studies analyzed. Though the 13 propositions are “logically interrelated” and “possess internal consistency,” they question: “Does Tinto’s theory also possess empirical internal consistency”? (p. 76). Taking the position that the theory’s validity rests on empirical internal consistency, they use a “box score” method (p. 77), previously reported by Braxton, Sullivan, and Johnson (1997), to count the “percentage of tests of that proposition [in the empirical literature reviewed] that statistically affirm that proposition” (p. 77). They conclude that a proposition that is statistically significant in “66 percent...

Looking inside the black box: results of a theory-based process evaluation exploring the results of a randomized controlled trial of printed educational messages to increase primary care physicians' diabetic retinopathy referrals [Trial registration number ISRCTN72772651

BackgroundTheory-based process evaluations conducted alongside randomized controlled trials provide the opportunity to investigate hypothesized mechanisms of action of interventions, helping to build a cumulative knowledge base and to inform the interpretation of individual trial outcomes. Our objective was to identify the underlying causal mechanisms in a cluster randomized trial of the effectiveness of printed educational materials (PEMs) to increase referral for diabetic retinopathy screening. We hypothesized that the PEMs would increase physicians’ intention to refer patients for retinal screening by strengthening their attitude and subjective norm, but not their perceived behavioral control.MethodsDesign: A theory based process evaluation alongside the Ontario Printed Educational Material (OPEM) cluster randomized trial. Postal surveys based on the Theory of Planned Behavior were sent to a random sample of trial participants two months before and six months after they received the intervention. Setting: Family physicians in Ontario, Canada. Participants: 1,512 family physicians (252 per intervention group) from the OPEM trial were invited to participate, and 31.3% (473/1512) responded at time one and time two. The final sample comprised 437 family physicians fully completing questionnaires at both time points. Main outcome measures: Primary: behavioral intention related to referring patient for retinopathy screening; secondary: attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control.ResultsAt baseline, family physicians reported positive intention, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control to advise patients about retinopathy screening suggesting limited opportunities for improvement in these constructs. There were no significant differences on intention, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control following the intervention. Respondents also reported additional physician- and patient-related factors perceived to influence whether patients received retinopathy screening.ConclusionsLack of change in the primary and secondary theory-based outcomes provides an explanation for the lack of observed effect of the main OPEM trial. High baseline levels of intention to advise patients to attend retinopathy screening suggest that post-intentional and other factors may explain gaps in care. Process evaluations based on behavioral theory can provide replicable and generalizable insights to aid interpretation of randomized controlled trials of complex interventions to change health professional behavior.Trial registrationISRCTN72772651.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1748-5908-9-86) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Replication Recipe: What makes for a convincing replication?

Psychological scientists have recently started to reconsider the importance of close replications in building a cumulative knowledge base; however, there is no consensus about what constitutes a convincing close replication study. To facilitate convincing close replication attempts we have developed a Replication Recipe, outlining standard criteria for a convincing close replication. Our Replication Recipe can be used by researchers, teachers, and students to conduct meaningful replication studies and integrate replications into their scholarly habits.

Health systems' "surge capacity": state of the art and priorities for future research.

Over the past decade, a number of high-impact natural hazard events, together with the increased recognition of pandemic risks, have intensified interest in health systems' ability to prepare for, and cope with, "surges" (sudden large-scale escalations) in treatment needs. In this article, we identify key concepts and components associated with this emerging research theme. We consider the requirements for a standardized conceptual framework for future research capable of informing policy to reduce the morbidity and mortality impacts of such incidents. Here our objective is to appraise the consistency and utility of existing conceptualizations of health systems' surge capacity and their components, with a view to standardizing concepts and measurements to enable future research to generate a cumulative knowledge base for policy and practice. A systematic review of the literature on concepts of health systems' surge capacity, with a narrative summary of key concepts relevant to public health. The academic literature on surge capacity demonstrates considerable variation in its conceptualization, terms, definitions, and applications. This, together with an absence of detailed and comparable data, has hampered efforts to develop standardized conceptual models, measurements, and metrics. Some degree of consensus is evident for the components of surge capacity, but more work is needed to integrate them. The overwhelming concentration in the United States complicates the generalizability of existing approaches and findings. The concept of surge capacity is a useful addition to the study of health systems' disaster and/or pandemic planning, mitigation, and response, and it has far-reaching policy implications. Even though research in this area has grown quickly, it has yet to fulfill its potential to generate knowledge to inform policy. Work is needed to generate robust conceptual and analytical frameworks, along with innovations in data collection and methodological approaches that enhance health systems' readiness for, and response to, unpredictable high-consequence surges in demand.

Connecting the dots: Mobilizing theory to reveal the big picture in social psychology (and why we should do this)

AbstractDuring the past 20 years, practices in social psychology have drifted toward the publication of brief research reports as the main outlet for empirical findings, resulting in an exponential increase of the number of publications in our field. Recent developments questioning the reliability of these findings have increased the focus on (methodological) details and have prompted efforts to establish the robustness of isolated phenomena. Both types of developments carry the danger of impeding rather than promoting progress in the field. We can only build a cumulative knowledge base when we succeed in connecting these dots. Developing and examining broader theories about psychological processes and their implications can help connect different insights and elucidate their further implications in a way that can be used and understood within and beyond the boundaries of our discipline. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Replication Recipe: What Makes for a Convincing Replication?

Psychological scientists have recently started to reconsider the importance of close replications in building a cumulative knowledge base; however, there is not a consensus about what constitutes a convincing replication study. To facilitate close and convincing replication attempts we have developed a Replication Recipe, outlining standard criteria for a convincing close replication. This includes faithfully recreating the original study while keeping track of differences, achieving high statistical power, checking the study’s assumptions in new contexts, and pre-registering the study. We also discuss methods for evaluating and reporting replications. Identifying differences between replication and original (sample, culture, lab context, etc.) allows researchers to identify where their replication is on the continuum from “close” to “conceptual”. Our replication recipe can be used by established researchers, teachers, and students to conduct meaningful replication studies and integrate replications into their scholarly habits.

State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Quality of Life Research: A Systematic Review

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has become an increasingly important focus of outcomes in cancer care with the movement toward more patient-oriented research. Quality-of-life outcomes are important in ovarian cancer, which has not yet benefitted from improved survival outcomes as have other diseases. This study was designed to systematically assess and summarize HRQOL in ovarian cancer. A systematic search strategy was initiated to identify published literature measuring HRQOL of women with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC). Data were synthesized to evaluate HRQOL and patient-reported outcome data at various time points: before, during, and after chemotherapy. Data were pooled and summary statistics compared across published studies. Comparisons of means were conducted using analysis of variance. There were 170 publications meeting all eligibility criteria, representing 139 unique studies of patients with ovarian cancer, where QOL data were collected. Within this literature, more than 90 different patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments were administered. The most common HRQOL instruments included the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy. Few studies alone demonstrated significant differences in QOL between the experimental and comparison arm or throughout the treatment period. Pooled data, however, show that baseline QOL may significantly improve, particularly after completion of chemotherapy treatment. Despite the increase in assessment and reporting of QOL in ovarian cancer research studies during the past 15 years, there remains little consistency in the types and format of data collected. There is a need to enhance the standardized collection and reporting of HRQOL data from research involving women with ovarian cancer so that research can build on the cumulative knowledge base to improve outcomes in this patient population.

Sequential meta-analysis to determine the sufficiency of cumulative knowledge: The case of early intensive behavioral intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders

Meta-analysis has become a popular tool to statistically integrate results across studies in order to formulate more general conclusions on treatment effectiveness. Unfortunately, traditional meta-analytic applications fail to answer the question whether enough cumulative knowledge is available to draw convincing statistical conclusions. Leaving questions regarding the sufficiency of cumulative knowledge unaddressed may lead to inefficient use of limited resources or to the dissemination of spurious treatment benefit. Sequential meta-analysis or SMA provides a statistical framework to determine the sufficiency of cumulative knowledge in a meta-analysis, but is relatively unknown in mental health or disability fields. In this article, we introduce SMA and demonstrate its application by resynthesizing research findings on the effectiveness of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism reported in five published meta-analyses. The results illustrate the additional information that can be gained by including a sequential approach in research synthesis. SMA may serve as a valuable tool to systematically build and interpret a cumulative knowledge base on treatment effectiveness in the field of developmental disabilities.