Metacognition and translation competence: A three-level meta-analytic study

A substantial body of research has been spurred to investigate the interactive relationship between metacognition and translation competence (TC). Nevertheless, prior literature has reported divergent relationships between the two variables. This divergence can be attributed to the neglect of moderators and interdependent effect sizes among variables. To address these gaps, the present study aims to examine the relationships between metacognition and TC, as well as their moderators via the three-level meta-analysis method. This study includes 23 previous studies with 211 effect sizes and 3017 participants. The included literature showed comparatively high quality, with an average score of 8.174. The findings unveil that metacognition positively contributes to TC, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.472. Among the moderators, with the exception of participants, language family, publication year, modified questionnaire and interview, the remaining moderators demonstrate statistical significance and a positive correlation with the influence of metacognition on TC. By synthesizing the existing literature, the current study discusses the underlying rationales for the robustness and significance of these bonds. In a nutshell, this study proffers a holistic perspective and empirical evidence regarding the interactive impact of metacognition on TC for the first time. It is hoped that this study can shed light on future metacognition research from interdisciplinary perspectives and quantitative methods.