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Using the latest research synthesis techniques, leading researchers describe the state of the art in various research fields, test and compare theories, and derive conclusions about the effectiveness of interventions.

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Research synthesis techniques such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become standard methods for aggregating the results from thematically related research in psychology. In this "Hotspots" issue, leading researchers describe state of the art systematic reviews and meta-analyses on topics currently being debated in psychology, meta-analytic replications and extensions of previously published synthesis, and methodological advances in research synthesis methods such as multivariate/multilevel metaanalysis, Bayesian approaches, meta-analysis with mixture models, and study quality appraisal tools.

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Prof. Dr. Edgar Erdfelder ist Lehrstuhlinhaber für Psychologie an der Fakultät für Sozialwissenschaften der Universität Mannheim.

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