This open access database was created by X for the mapping review of reviews article entitled 'Evidence syntheses in educational technology research: What is not published in English is not visible? A tertiary mapping review', published in X and authored by X, X, X, X and X.

This database was created using the EPPI-Visualiser tool within EPPI-Reviewer.

Abstract:

Evidence syntheses, such as systematic reviews, aim to summarise the current state of research in a field, often using the publication language of a study as a criterion for inclusion or exclusion. However, this has serious implications for capturing evidence from a wider range of geographical areas, and the potential for linguistic bias. In order to explore this issue, a trilingual tertiary mapping review of 446 evidence syntheses within the field of educational technology was undertaken, analysing the frequency of multi- and monolingual evidence syntheses, reasons for language choice by research teams, and the composition of research teams in multi- and monolingual evidence syntheses. Items were included if they were a form of evidence synthesis with an explicit method section, indexed within ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, Dialnet, FIS-Bildung, or Google Scholar, education related, and published between 1983 and May 2022. The results showed that only eight languages were considered in published syntheses, only five languages were used to construct search strings, most evidence syntheses included research published in English without explaining why, and multilingual research team composition did not predict multilingual evidence syntheses. The findings suggest the need to address publication languages not only as a formal criterion but as an integral aspect of methodological approach, influencing the content and scope of syntheses in educational research.

Keywords: review of reviews, meta review, educational technology, research synthesis, systematic review, research methods, publication language, linguistic bias, evidence synthesis

Research Questions

1. How often are multilingual evidence syntheses and multilingual search strategies conducted in the field of educational technology, how are they reported and how do they relate to each other?
2. What reasons are given by researchers for carrying out multilingual or monolingual syntheses, and is this reflected in their methods?
3. What role does the composition of research teams and the geographical focus of evidence syntheses play in conducting multilingual reviews?