What does "meta-work" mean?

[NewHopeR]

Context:

Sometimes experiments fail for a reason. Sometimes experiments fail for no reason.
As anyone who works in a lab knows, things that work perfectly for months or years can suddenly stop working, offering no explanation for the change. (In this way, lab experiments are like Internet Explorer®.) This abrupt and inexplicable failure changes your work to meta-work, as you stop asking questions about science and start asking questions about the consistency of your technique. You can waste years saying things like, “When I created the sample that worked, I flared my nostril in a weird way. So this week, I’ll try to repeat what I did last week but with more nostrils flarin’!”

[5jj]

The first explanation of 'meta' here may hep: meta- - definition. American English definition of meta- by Macmillan Dictionary

[NewHopeR]

Got it.
Thank you.

[BobSmith]

meta-work: you stop asking questions about [the work] and start asking questions about the consistency of your technique.

[not a teacher]

The quote answers your question itself.