Meta approaches in knowledge synthesis in nursing: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract Objective To analyze the bibliometric patterns of meta-approaches use in nursing research literature. Methods Descriptive, exploratory and historical bibliometrics analyses were used. The papers were harvested from the Web of Science Core Collection. Findings The search resulted in 2065 publications. The trends in using most individual meta approaches show that the use of meta-analysis is increasing exponentially, the use of meta-synthesis is increasing linearly, while the use of meta-ethnography is constant in last 6 years. Most productive countries were United States of America, United Kingdom and Peoples Republic of China. Most publications were published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, International Journal of Nursing Studies, and Journal of Clinical Nursing. Twenty-seven percent of all publications were funded. Thirty-four meta approaches were identified. Discussion The study revealed that the trend in the literature production is positive. Research community use of meta-approaches in nursing exhibit considerable growth. Regional concentration of literature production was observed.