A general framework for deconvoluting the effects of energy averaging on charged-particle reaction measurements is presented. There are many potentially correct approaches to the problem; the relative merits of some of are discussed. These deconvolut
ion methods are applied to recent 12C(alpha,gamma)16O measurements.
We review some aspects of R-matrix theory and its application to the semi-empirical analysis of nuclear reactions. Important applications for nuclear astrophysics and recent results for the ${}^{12}{rm C}(alpha,gamma){}^{16}{rm O}$ reaction are emphasized.
