Metascience and Research Synthesis in the Language Sciences Workshop
University of Reading
June 29th – July 1st, 2026
We are happy to announce the Metascience and Research Synthesis in the Language Sciences Workshop that will take place in person at the University of Reading from June 29th – July 1st, 2026.
The workshop will be led by Professor Luke Plonsky (Northern Arizona University) and will provide a comprehension introduction to metascience and research synthesis for linguists and researchers in allied fields. A summary of the workshop can be found below. More detailed information will be provided in due course.
If you would like to attend the workshop, please complete the registration form.
The workshop is free to attend but spaces are limited. As such, please only register if you intend to come. Note that this is an in-person event only. If the workshop is oversubscribed, we will implement a waiting list. Due to the nature of funding, we unfortunately will not be able to provide catering, and attendees will need to organise their own accommodation, if required. If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact Dr Ian Cunnings (i.cunnings@reading.ac.uk).
Metascience and Research Synthesis in the Language Sciences
Research synthesis (RS) comprises a powerful set of procedures for conducting comprehensive and empirically-grounded reviews of a given domain. Consequently, the use of RS has grown dramatically in recent years (Chong & Plonsky, 2024). Building on recent efforts to promote and improve synthetic methods in applied linguistics (e.g., Boers et al., 2022; Mizumoto et al., in 2021), this workshop provides participants with a conceptual and procedural introduction to RS, addressing all major steps involved: (a) defining the domain and searching for primary literature, (b) developing and implementing a coding scheme, (c) data analysis, and (d) interpreting results. Examples will be provided along with sample/practice data representing different types of RS (e.g., scoping review; bibliometric review; methodological synthesis). Our discussions in the workshop will also be situated in the broader context of metascience, an inherently transdisciplinary field of inquiry that investigates substantive findings as well as research methods, publication policies and practices, peer review, funding, incentive structures, ethics, and mentoring as they pertain to one or more domains (Ioannidis et al., 2015). Finally, the workshop will not be technical, and only a basic knowledge of quantitative methods is assumed.
This workshop is funded by the British Academy.
