Richard J. Light

When first published, A reviewer’s prediction was “this book is likely to become a classic”—and it has. It’s still being published over two decades later. Every time I pick up the book, I’ve been rewarded with a new way of peeling-back the husk of uncertainty revealing an informational pattern which can be used to guide decisions and policies. I feel all of our politicians should carry this book in their back-pocket, figuratively speaking, and consult it when a situation calls for a rational evaluation.

Below, I share what is written on the back-cover of my 1984 edition of the book; speaking as a layman, I agree with every word.

Astute and wonderfully lucid, Summing Up will be a treasure for inexperienced researchers and contains messages for many experienced ones as well. The book goes beyond techniques for boiling down multiple studies to a single summary "effect size" showing how qualitative information from the original studies improves interpretation.
--Lee J. Cronbach, Stanford University

How can a scientist or policy analyst summarize and evaluate what is already known about a particular topic? This book offers practical guidance. Light and Pillemer present both general guidelines and step-by-step procedures that can be used to synthesize existing findings.
Written in nontechnical language and addressed to the beginning researcher as well as to the practicing professional, “Summing Up” will seta new standard for valid research reviews and is likely to become a methodological classic.

An engaging readable, and well-illustrated account of the current art of combining information from several studies.
--Frederick Mosteller, Harvard University
A much-needed book--interesting, readable, attractively presented, practical.
--Julian C. Stanley, The Johns Hopkins University… (mer)