Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

My research interests follow two paths. The first concerns research synthesis. My book Research Syntheses and Meta-Analysis: A Step-by-Step Approach (2009) is in its fourth edition. I am co-editor of the Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis (2nd Edition, 2009). My students and I have published over two dozen research syntheses, many of which appeared in varied prestigious journals including Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Review of Educational Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, and Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology.

I am also interested in the application of social and developmental psychology to educational policy issues. In particular, I study how the activities that children and adolescents engage in outside of school influence their academic achievement. Our research synthesis on homework was used to prepare a guide for policy and practice (The Battle over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents, 3rd edition, 2007). We also study the impact of school calendars and calendar variations on students and their families.

Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Social Psychology, 1975

M.A., University of Connecticut, Psychology, 1974

B.A., SUNY at Stony Brook, Psychology and Sociology, 1972

Cooper, H. (2009). Research synthesis and meta-analysis: A step-by-step approach (4th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Cooper, H., Hedges, L. V. & Valentine, J.C. (Eds.) (2009). The Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Cooper, H. (2008). The search for meaningful ways to express the effects of interventions. Child Development Perspectives, 2, 181-186.