Meta Analysis Technique in Research

¶ … Management STRATEGIES IN UTILIZATION OF NUCLEAR ENERGY AND WASTE DISPOSALSFOR SUSTAINABILITY" Comment by Owner: You are still not getting it Komi.In chapter three you need to tell your readers exactly how you will conduct the research.Apply the method to the studies you plan to research.Please address all of my comments in your chapter three A Dissertation Presented using the Meta-Analysis Technique Komi E Fiagbe Christina Anastasia PH-D Chair [Committee Name], [Degree], Committee Member [Committee Name], [Degree], Committee Member This research proposal explores the link between public perceptions of nuclear power, how those perceptions are formed, and what influence those opinions have on energy policy.

These issues are important in light of two realities. First, nuclear energy is declining in its share of global energy. Second, nuclear energy offers what might well be the best solution to climate change. Given the threat posed by climate change, it makes sense that nuclear power would be increasing in share, not decreasing. This Research proposal seeks to look at some of the issues facing nuclear power, and how it can overcome these issues to increase share going forward.

[Add a Dedication, if desired [Add Acknowledgements] Table of Contents List of Figures [Add List of Figures here] i Chapter Three Research Traditions There are a number of different research traditions that could be used to understand a subject as broad as nuclear power. Generally, the wide nature of this issue implies that the research methodology utilized, measurements undertaken, and the kinds of people examined differ depending on the study while the topic is the same (Glass, 1977, p.351). The appropriate method, ultimately, depends on a number of different variables.

The availability of hard data will determine whether quantitative methods can be used. What data is available is dependent on the research question itself. In the case of this project, the research question focuses on the future of nuclear power. Nuclear power decisions are made most often at the political level, as a matter of national energy policy, rather than the scientific level. In terms of the science, there is little doubt that nuclear power can be used, albeit with some fairly significant risks (Alic, 2012).

The most appropriate methodology for this research would be the Meta- Analysis Technique. Comment by Owner: Add more information on this technique. Include citations.Here are the seminal sources on meta-analysis, please incorporate them into this chapterBangert-Drowns, Robert L. & Rudner, Lawrence M. (1991). Meta-analysis in educational research. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2(8). Retrieved September 4, 2008 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=8 Bushman, B. J., & Wells, G. L. (2001). Narrative impressions of literature: The availability bias and the corrective properties of meta-analytic approaches.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1123-1130.Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Academic Press.Egger, M., & Smith, G. D. (1995-1998) Series of article on Meta-analysis, British Medical Journal, vols. 310, 315, 316.Glass, G. V. (1976). Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher, 5, 3-8.Glass, G. V. (1977). Integrating findings: The meta-analysis of research. Review of Research in Education, 5, 351-379.Wolf, F. M. (1986). Meta-analysis: Quantitative methods for research synthesis. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

The suitability of meta-analysis technique for this research is attributed to the fact that it's a collection of methodical techniques for resolving obvious contradictions in research findings. This technique also involves translating results from varying studies to a universal metric and statistically examining relation between research characteristics and findings (Bangert-Drowns & Rudner, 1991). According to Egger, Smith & Phillips (1997), meta-analysis is a statistical process that entails integrating the findings of various independent studies that are considerably combinable (p.1533).

Similar to any other research process, the use of meta-analysis in this study will be characterized by several steps i.e. formulating the issue or problem to be studied, data collection and analysis, and reporting the findings. Meta-analysis technique is also appropriate for this study since it promotes clear definition and analysis of the issue or problem being examined. Actually, natural, biological, and physical sciences usually enable research problems or issues to be clearly defined and evaluated through uniform and commonly accepted methodologies and measures (Wolf, 1986, p.9).

As previously mentioned, nuclear power is a broad topic that has attracted significant attention in the recent past, which has contributed to numerous research and studies on this issue. In essence, the broad nature of the study not only contributes to use of different research traditions but also generate various kinds of studies. The findings of the numerous existing studies on the issue of nuclear power are relatively fragile as research on the topic is increasing at an astounding rate, particularly because of increased climate change in the recent past.

Research findings of existing studies on the issue of nuclear power are fragile since they are characterized by irregularities across several factors such as contexts and classes of subjects. This is usually a major challenge in education research because of the rapid increase in research on dozens of topics (Glass, 1976, p.3). Therefore, the need for meta-analysis technique in conducting this study is relatively clear.

Through the use of this technique, the researcher will primarily focus on examining different studies in terms of their information and contradictions before statistically examining their characteristics and findings. This process will be geared towards integrating the results of these independent studies to generate significant conclusions regarding the topic. The use of meta-analysis technique in the study will help generate important information about the issue. Thus, this is not a paper rooted in the technical sciences, but rather in the social sciences.

The matter at hand in the four research hypotheses that are being examined is essentially qualitative in nature. The studies that have been produced are somewhat thin on the ground, there have been a handful of studies, but none so closely related that they can be subject to traditional quantitative analysis. But this does not mean that these studies cannot be analyzed for common traits, nor does it mean that we cannot extrapolate from a grouping of studies truths about the world at large.

To be certain, one country's experience cannot fully and smoothly equate to another country's experience, there is always local context, but again, that is inherent in the social sciences. Social sciences work is not conducted in a laboratory, but in the real world. The problem with quantitative studies is that they leave little room for things like context and nuance; only qualitative analysis by an expert practitioner can result in a meaningful interpretation of diverse sets of qualitative and quantitative data, for instance the Meta-Analysis Technique (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003).

Comment by Owner: Citations needed However, since qualitative research does not entail creating research hypothesis, the researcher will also utilize quantitative methods in this study. The significance of quantitative research method is that it enables development of several hypotheses that are used in the research process in order to examine the specific issue under evaluation. On the contrary, qualitative research will be utilized since it is more effective in social research. Given that this study is not based on technical sciences but on social science, qualitative research will be vital.

Actually, qualitative research has a longstanding history of providing significant insights regarding social structures, cultures, and behaviors. Moreover, qualitative methods help in development and evaluation of social policy, which makes them effective in social research (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003, p.25). There are a number of critical competencies that a researcher needs to have in order to apply expert analysis to a given subject matter.

The research needs to be able to effectively manage information; the organization of the literature review along the individual research questions was instrumental in developing the needed organization to answer these questions. There also needs to be systemic competencies such as research capabilities, the ability to apply knowledge, the ability to adapt to one's set of circumstances and creativity (Verd, 2010). While using meta-analysis in this process, the research will incorporate each step in this technique.

As previously mentioned, there are several steps in meta-analysis technique that will be utilized in this research including .. Comment by Owner: You are talking about research in general, which is fine in the beginning of the section.

I need to see specifics on your research.What steps are involved in the meta-analysis How will you apply each of these steps in your researchWhat studies are you researching Formulation of Problem to be Addressed The first step in meta-analysis technique is formulating the issue or problem to be examined, which is relatively similar to any other research work. This is the first step in the process because meta-analysis can be regarded as observational evaluation or study of evidence (Egger, Smith & Phillips, 1997, p.1533).

This process requires researchers to prepare a detailed research protocol that clearly shows the objectives, hypotheses to be tested, relevant subgroups, and proposed techniques and method for determining relevant studies. During this process, the researcher also writes comprehensive means for collecting and analyzing information from the selected studies. In this study, the researcher will develop a research proposal that clearly shows the study objectives, hypotheses, relevant subgroups, and proposed research methodologies and techniques.

Generally, the proposal will provide a background of the issue and proposed methodologies or techniques for conducting the study. Therefore, the process of formulating the problem or issue to be examined in this research will entail developing a research proposal that contains important information regarding the issue and research process. Collection and Analysis of Relevant Data Once the problem or issue to be addressed in the research has been formulated, the second process in meta-analysis is collecting and analyzing relevant data.

This process entails determining an inclusion criterion for selecting articles to be analyzed and ensuring that a suitable approach is utilized for examining the quality of a study (Egger, Smith & Phillips, 1997, p.1533). The researcher is required to consider trials or articles that are relevant to the topic or issue in order to generate the most optimal research findings. The strategy for identifying and selecting appropriate studies for the research process will be extended to include unpublished articles.

In essence, the researcher will utilize published and unpublished articles that relate to this subject. The use of unpublished work in this project is fueled by the fact that the findings of this study may differ from published works and restricting the study to published articles may result in distorted findings because of publication bias (Egger, Smith & Phillips, 1997, p.1533).

However, the researcher will define a preferable inclusion criterion through a comprehensive sensitivity analysis to help ensure that both published and unpublished trials utilized for this study are relevant to the topic. The identification of published and unpublished articles will be conducted through electronic databases and manual search of journals. This will also entail using a standardized record form to extract data and avoid errors as well as rating the quality of each study.

These measures will help in conducting a detailed scrutiny of each article before determining its use in the research. The results of each study's rating will be demonstrated in a standardized format to enable comparison of the selected articles. Moreover, the use of these strategies is part of using statistical procedures in meta-analytic review to integrate research findings from various studies and express results through numerical effect-size projections (Bushman & Wells, 2001, p.1123). The process of analyzing data in this study will also involve calculating the general impact through data combination.

However, the researcher will not use a simple arithmetic average to combine data since it would generate misleading results. The methodologies used in meta-analysis to combine data involve weighing average of the results through statistical measures. During this process, the degree of similarity in the studies' findings will be tested for heterogeneity across these studies or articles. Reporting the Results The final step in the meta-analysis technique for research is reporting the results once data has been collected and analyzed.

In this case, the researcher provides his/her findings from combination of the studies' findings. The researcher not only reports similarities between these articles but also demonstrates the differences in the studies. This is an important part of the process since it demonstrates the applicability of the research findings. According to Bushman & Wells (2001), the findings of a meta-analytic review are usually reported by describing the results through numerical effect-size projections (p.1123).

In this study, the researcher will describe the results of the meta-analytic review or technique through the use of numerical effect-size projections. The projections or estimates will be based on the similarities or differences between the studies that were identified in the analysis process. The researcher will document and describe the findings obtained from combination of the findings from both published and unpublished studies used in this research.

The projections are not based on simple arithmetic average of the results but on results generated from statistical measures used in the combination process. Expert knowledge and thorough research are critical because of the inherent need for rigor in qualitative research, the field having essentially shifted away from quantitative concepts such as reliability and validity. The concept of rigor should include thoroughness in research, the development of expert-level knowledge of a subject, and the application of unbiased analysis of the information that is available (Morse et al., 2002).

The absence of any of these things in the Meta-Analysis Technique can undermine any research, including quantitative, but in qualitative research the researcher must pay extra care and attention to issues of bias and completeness, not passing up any potentially valuable information. One of the significant issues with the Meta-Analysis technique is that there will inevitably be gaps in the existing knowledge. The purpose of the research is therefore to piece together what truths are known, and identify the different areas where future research would benefit.

Ultimately, the methodology has to move beyond the literature review and arrive at generalizations that can be more broadly applied, also known as empirical generalization. There are a number of approaches to generalization. First, the researcher must answer the question as to whether the material uncovered can be generalized. Second, the researcher needs to examine this with respect to each different study. Third, the researcher has to understand whether theories can be derived from the research in question (). In this case, no theories are being sought.

However, the first two questions about generalization are valid for this research. It is reasonable that no one study can be extrapolated globally, because of the role that cultural context plays in the perceptions and applications of nuclear power in each national context, but it is also reasonable that by examining findings on these questions from a wide number of countries, that any commonalities that span enough countries, and with enough strength, could be generalized and those findings apply to any similar situation.

Of course, there will be limits in this. For example, findings from Anglo-tradition democracies may be extrapolated to Germanic or Franco-tradition democracies, but the research has noted that this is not necessarily the case. There is less applicability of such findings to the Japanese context given the cultural gap between Anglo-tradition democracies and Japan. And there might not be any applicability to Russia, Iran or other country that essentially has no tradition of democracy and whose cultural roots are dramatically different from those in Anglo-traditional countries.

The optimal technique for the research questions at hand is known as research synthesis, which is the qualitative equivalent of meta-analysis (Jefferies, 1999). Research synthesis is a technique by which the researcher examines the sum total of the literature on a given subject matter in order to identify trends, as well as gaps in the literature. A research synthesis is thus a form of evolved literature review, wherein the researcher subjects the research to logical and systematic patterns of evaluation (Jefferies, 1999).

The research synthesis will be based on published and non-published studies that the researcher will identify and select for this research. The number of studies to be utilized in this study will be described towards the end of this chapter. Comment by Owner: citation Comment by Owner: how many studies will you use? The research synthesis is optimal for the social sciences, because much of the existing body of research is qualitative in nature.

It is also optimal in situations where the existing body of research on a subject is somewhat thin, with gaps. Where research on a subject is specific, dense and quantitative, a meta-analysis would be more appropriate. The body of existing literature on the subject of this report does not meet the criteria for a meta-analysis, being understudied, disparate and qualitative in nature. Thus, the most appropriate research methodology is the research synthesis.

Unlike literature review, research synthesis is a quantitative research methodology that is used for objective and effective review of completed research or studies (Jefferies, 1999). The other aspect of research tradition is multi-disciplinary study. While multi-disciplinary study does not always lend itself to the narrow focus of academic journals, the real world is often multidisciplinary.

Actually, multidisciplinary study is increasingly being recognized as a necessary component for answering complex questions, resolving multifaceted problems, and obtaining logical understanding of complex issues that cannot be resolved sufficiently or addressed comprehensively by any single discipline ("Defining Interdisciplinary Studies," n.d.). There is a time and place for laboratory questions that exclude real world factors in order to isolate variables. But this is not the time.

Research about nuclear power and its role in our energy future is by its nature multi-disciplinary as it lies at the intersection of nuclear science, sociology, psychology and political science. Journals from all of these disciplines have contributed to this study. There is not just one variable, acting independently, that governs this issue. It is indeed many variables, and they sometimes work together to influence opinions and actions (Bauer, Brecha & Luderer, 2012, p.16807).

Comment by Owner: Citations needed The outcome of meta-analysis, across disciplines, in a qualitative research format, is going to be research that is more accurate and reflective of the real world problem that is to be solved than would be possible in a controlled experiment. The fact that the data needed does not always exist, may not be accessed, or that there are ethical issues with conducting experiments in this field only add to the necessity to conduct qualitative research in this area.

Walsh & Downe (2005) state that meta-analysis is an important method for qualitative research since it helps deepen understanding of contextual dimensions of the issue being examined (p.204). Comment by Owner: Citations neededYou also have yet to tell me how many studies will be reviewed in the meta analysis. YOU MUST BE SPECIFIC The researcher will review at least 10 studies in the meta-analysis on this research issue. These studies will comprise published and unpublished articles addressing the issue of nuclear power, especially with regards to reducing climate change.

The major criterion for the identification and selection of these studies will be their relevance to the research issue, particularly on how nuclear energy may be the most suitable solution to climate change. In addition, the researcher will employ other criteria for selecting the studies since the research issue is broad and has attracted considerable attention in the recent past. Research Questions and Hypotheses This research is by its nature primarily qualitative. However, the researcher will also utilize quantitative methods, especially to develop research questions and hypotheses.

As previously mentioned, this research will involve the use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods though much focus will be on qualitative methods. As a result of the use of quantitative studies, there researcher will test four hypotheses in this study. Comment by Owner: You do not have hypothesis in qualitative research. Therefore it has to be quantitative.Show me any studies where a qualitative study tested hypotheses? The first hypothesis reflects on the effect that disasters have on public perceptions of nuclear power.

For obvious technical and ethical reasons, it is not possible to induce a nuclear disaster in order to study this issue knowledge must be gained from the studies that have already been conducted. There have been three high profile nuclear power disasters at Three Mile Island, at Chernobyl and at Fukushima. There is information available from surveys that were conducted in the wake of Chernobyl, and there have been numerous studies in the past decade about nuclear power acceptance by the public.

These recent studies include some specific before-and-after data about Fukushima. The researcher will review at least four studies from surveys that were conducted in the aftermath of Three Mile Island and Fukushima incidents. In essence, the researcher will review two studies conducted in the wake of Chernobyl and two studies conducted in the aftermath of Fukushima incident.

Comment by Owner: I assume there are actual studies that apply to these disasters, how many will you be reviewing? To address the first question (Hypothesis #1:Public perceptions of nuclear energy are largely driven by disasters), then, it will be necessary to review the literature, in the style of a meta-analysis, in order to determine whether or not public perceptions have changed before and after the Fukushima meltdown. This information can then also be compared against the information that exists from Three Mile Island and from Chernobyl.

One of the most valid reasons for conducting a meta-analysis on nuclear energy, specifically the fixed effects model is that this type of research can allow for more complex concepts to be visited than would be possible via other means. This topic has four distinct hypotheses, and they are multi-disciplinary in nature. Moreover there are specific technical and ethical barriers to answering these questions in a laboratory-style study design. Even today, it would be impossible to effectively gauge public reactions to Fukushima, as that was four years ago.

On the second question, (Hypothesis #2: Public perceptions can influence political decision making) there has been a lot of data gathered about this. Much of this data, unfortunately, is not in the public domain. Political parties would be the ideal source of this information, as they know exactly what drives people to vote, and can probably express this as well as anybody.

The problem, of course, is that this information is gathered for proprietary purposes, and ultimately this data is unlikely to be made available to the public while it still has value, as this is a key source of competitive advantage for political parties. The academic information on this is somewhat limited. To study this would entail staging an election instead there are proxies used. One proxy is to substitute voter action for voter intent, though in the real world those two things can diverge significantly.

While experts have been able to predict voter intentions quite well (Singh et al., 1995), nuclear power is fairly low on the list of issue that people take into consideration when voting. It may be entirely impossible to predict voting behavior by comparing voter's beliefs about nuclear power and a politician's stated policies on the matter.

While such information would clearly answer the question at hand: (Hypothesis #3: Unresolved technical issues contribute to policy): it has never been gathered directly, and the reality is that there is going to be a lot of noise in such a survey. Again, where hampered by a lack of data, it is necessary to rely on qualitative techniques such as meta-analysis to provide the rich level of description required to understand this complex, multidisciplinary subject. The third question is even more difficult to prove.

There is a lack of transparency in government decision-making, even within the most democratic of societies. Thus, it is difficult to do anything other than speculate as to the motivations of a given politician, and how that person's voting patterns might be determined.

This again calls for the meta-analysis technique, in the hopes that gathering a preponderance of evidence will either confirm the hypothesis, reject it, or if there is insufficient data at least at that point the future directions for study can be determined, assisting with uncovering this critical knowledge. The fourth question: (Hypothesis #4: Nuclear energy is not viewed as a viable solution to climate change): has actually received a fair bit of study.

The evidence more or less shows that there is disparity between the experts, and to a lesser extent the politicians who rely on the experts, and the general public with respect to the role that nuclear power can play in climate change mitigation. There is hope that some actual figures can be derived here, because only two sources appeared to address this directly, comparing the amount of carbon use that is offset with nuclear power use. The meta-analysis technique allows for some interpretation of the data on this issue.

The question is sometimes posed directly, and there is one set of papers that covers UK attitudes over time, which will be tremendously valuable (Morse et al., 2002). But broadening the perspective on this question is something that will allow for better information to be collected prior to drawing conclusions about this issue.

The research objective for this report is: "This research seeks to identify whether or not there are any commonalities in the reasons why nuclear power is in decline, at a time when it probably should be increasing in importance in the global energy mix." There are four hypotheses that are being examined in the report. They are as follows: Hypothesis #1: Public perceptions of nuclear energy are largely driven by disasters.

Hypothesis #2: Public perceptions can influence political decision making Hypothesis #3: Unresolved technical issues contribute to policy Hypothesis #4: Nuclear energy is not viewed as a viable solution to climate change Research Design The research design is built around the four hypotheses. These hypotheses are derived from the research objective, and from the preliminary research that was conducted on this subject. The hypotheses are each subject to their own literature review, as part of the research synthesis. The literature review essentially gathers the information without any interpretation or discussion.

It is only in the methodology phase when then research is examined, analyzed, and the similarities and differences between the findings are subject to analysis and discussion (Lewis and Ritchie, 2003). The research will be based on the Meta-Analysis technique. A systematic approach is taken with respect to analyzing the research. The most important component is to analyze for the research hypothesis, to understand what the body of research is telling us about that hypotheses (Jefferies, 1991).

Furthermore, there will be an opportunity to identify how the different studies differ from one another at this point and in doing so the studies can be subject to an appropriate comparison. The final stage is to pull the four hypotheses together. The four hypotheses exist because they all form part of the research question. The research question can only be understood when all four of the research questions are examined together, and their individual conclusions drawn together.

The key research elements of reliability and validity are determined by the thoroughness of the research, and an acceptance of the limitations that are inherent in the research (Jefferies, 1991). Ethical Issues in Research There are a few different areas of ethical consideration in research such as this. As noted elsewhere in this work, some of the issues described relate to situations that cannot be ethically replicated. There is no way to re-create a nuclear meltdown to effectively test people's opinions of nuclear power before and after.

The only thing to do is to use the research that was already done on this subject, accepting whatever flaws and gaps it might have. The research was guided by the harm principle, wherein the researcher would not do harm. Another ethical issue is that of privacy. It is important to retain the privacy of any subject that contributes to this research. The chosen methodology allows for the research to be gathered without the involvement of human subjects.

Human subjects are the primary source of the need for ethical safeguards, and their absence makes the issue moot. Nevertheless, it is important that the need for ethical safeguards is remembered, because there may be a situation that arises in the course of this research where someone's privacy does need to be safeguarded, and the researcher will need to understand the protocols that need to be applied. This Research proposal was produced to the highest standards of ethical research. Where human subjects were involved, their privacy was under strict protection.

No humans or animals were subject to any risky situations, and full disclosure has been provided to any human subjects so that they had the opportunity for informed consent, prior to performing any research. Summary of Chapter Three A multi-disciplinary study involving conditions are that are not easily replicable requires a different sort of approach. There is not just one variable involved in this research, but multiple variables working together simultaneously, under real world conditions. In many cases, specific data is either non-existent or unavailable.

Thus, it is necessary that this research take the form of a qualitative research synthesis. This technique allows for the case to be made with respect to the four hypotheses on the basis of a preponderance of evidence. This evidence can be analyzed and described, and different studies can be put together to reveal some truths about nuclear power, the public's perceptions of it, and how those perceptions are applied in policy.

The research spans multiple different disciplines, which allows for the distillation of different perspectives into a single, coherent narrative that provides valuable insight into the current state of nuclear power and how it can be used as a means of mitigating climate change.

There is clearly, on the basis of the research done, not enough research on some of the key areas, but that is also an important finding, to determine where the work needs to be done, from an academic perspective, to increase the level of understanding on this subject. The qualitative analysis technique is coming back into vogue specifically for these types of situations. The research here is essentially social sciences research, to tackle a management program.

This requires the ability to understand and process subtle nuances in a way that quantitative analysis can never hope to achieve. One can gain vastly more insight from examining several different variables, and being able to see patterns in multiple different areas, relying on one's own skill and insight to understand key truths, and that is what this paper offers for the reader. To answer the research problem, four separate but related questions need to be answered.

There is a varying degree of information relating to each question available, both in the academic literature and in the government and NGO-produced literature on the subject of nuclear power. The type of methodology has to flow from the type of inquiry that is being made, and the information that is available to respond to the inquiry. First, it is clear that most of the information available is qualitative in nature.

This is not surprising, considering that ultimately the study of the future of nuclear power is tied to the political dimension. This makes the research question inherently rooted in the social sciences, and qualitative methods are frequently used in the social sciences. Qualitative methods are most appropriate because of their ability to handle the subtleties of the human dimension, and real world situations where laboratory conditions never apply and where external variables are both constant and fluid.

There is also some quantitative data available, and in this case that data provides a valuable backdrop, in particular to the issue of context. While this study is primarily qualitative in nature, quantitative research will also be carried out since qualitative studies do not entail testing research hypotheses. The use of quantitative research in this process is crucial because testing hypotheses is important to obtain necessary information that helps deepen understanding of the research problem or issue.

Testing hypotheses will also help the researcher to suitably examine underlying assumptions that influence opinions and actions relating to nuclear energy. In essence, it would be relatively difficult for the researcher to gain an understanding of these assumptions, opinions, and actions without generating and testing several hypotheses in this study. The appropriate methodology for this study, therefore, is the research synthesis. This method is common in the social sciences, and seeks to tie together multiple threads of existing research in order to understand a complex issue.

The issue at hand is inherently complex, and multidisciplinary, as it ties together elements of science, politics and energy policy. It is also a global issue, and the differences in the ways that this issue spans the world necessitate a form of research that is flexible. Research synthesis requires that the research be thorough, and that it is subject to interpretation by an expert, using systematic means of examining the data.

Thus, this is the methodology that has been used in this research, to provide expert analysis of this issues that are holding back the growth of nuclear power, even when the use of nuclear power appears to be a logical solution to growing carbon emissions and the threat posed by climate change. Chapter Four References Alic, J. (2012). Six things to do with nuclear waste: None of them ideal. Oil Price.com. Retrieved June 17, 2015 from http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/6-Things-to-do-with-Nuclear-Waste-None-of-them-Ideal.html Alley, W. & Alley, R. (2013).

Too hot to touch: The problem of high-level nuclear waste. Review by Konikow, L. (2013). Hydrogeology Journal. Bangert-Drowns, Robert L. & Rudner, Lawrence M. (1991). Meta-analysis in educational research. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 2(8). Retrieved September 4, 2008 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=8 Bauer, N., Brecha, R. & Luderer, G. (2012). Economics of nuclear power and climate change mitigation policies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Vol. 109 (42) 16805-16810. Bickerstaff, K., Lorenzoni, I., Pidgeon, N., Poortinga, W. & Simmons, P. (2011).

Reframing nuclear power in the UK energy debate: Nuclear power, climate change mitigation and radioactive waste. Public Understanding of Science. Vol. 17 (2) 145-169. Boin, A., Hart, P. & McConnell, A. (2009). Crisis exploitation: Political and policy impacts of framing contexts. Journal of European Public Policy. Vol. 16 (1) 81-106. Broczkowsi, M., Noel, J. & Shoesmith, D. (2004). The inhibiting effects of hydrogen on.