Qualitative meta-studies (QMS) have emerged as a promising methodology for synthesizing qualitative research within organization and management studies. However, despite considerable progress, increasingly fragmented applications of QMS impede the advancement of the methodology. To address this issue, we review and analyze the expanding body of QMS in organization and management studies. We propose a framework that encompasses the core decisions and methodological choices in the formal QMS protocol as well as the reflective—yet often implicit—meta-practices essential for deriving meaningful results from QMS. Based on our analysis, we develop two guidelines to help researchers reflectively align formal methodological choices with the intended purpose of the QMS, which can be either confirmatory or exploratory.

中文翻译：

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推进定性元研究 (QMS)：综合定性研究的当前实践和反思指南

定性元研究 (QMS) 已成为一种很有前途的方法，用于在组织和管理研究中综合定性研究。然而，尽管取得了相当大的进展，质量管理体系的应用日益分散阻碍了该方法的进步。为了解决这个问题，我们回顾并分析了组织和管理研究中不断扩大的质量管理体系。我们提出了一个框架，其中包含正式 QMS 协议中的核心决策和方法选择，以及从 QMS 中得出有意义的结果所必需的反思性（但通常是隐含的）元实践。根据我们的分析，我们制定了两个指南，帮助研究人员反思性地将正式方法选择与 QMS 的预期目的（可以是验证性的或探索性的）保持一致。