Meta-analysis: a critical appraisal of the methodology, benefits and drawbacks
Article
Article Title | Meta-analysis: a critical appraisal of the methodology, benefits and drawbacks |
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ERA Journal ID | 15834 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Khan, Shahjahan (Author), Memon, Breda (Author) and Memon, Muhammed A. (Author) |
Journal Title | British Journal of Hospital Medicine |
Journal Citation | 80 (11), pp. 636-641 |
Number of Pages | 6 |
Year | 2019 |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0210-0258 |
1462-3935 | |
1750-8460 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.12968/hmed.2019.80.11.636 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/hmed.2019.80.11.636 |
Abstract | Meta-analysis has become an integral part of evidence-based decision-making processes and is being increasingly used in medical and non-medical disciplines. Aggregate data or summary statistics continue to be the mainstay of meta-analysis and are used by many professional societies to support clinical practice guidelines. Meta-analyses synthesize the summary statistics from independent trials by pooling them to estimate the underlying common effect size. The results represent the highest level of evidence but only if the chosen studies are of high quality and the selection criteria are fully satisfied. It is important to address the issues of defining an explicit and relevant question, exhaustively searching for the totality of evidence, meticulous and unbiased data transfer or extraction, assessment of between study heterogeneity and the use of appropriate statistical methods for estimating summary effect measures. This article reviews the methodology, benefits and drawbacks of performing a meta-analysis. |
Keywords | meta-analysis, systematic review, evidence-based decision, meta-analytic models, level of evidence, evidence-informed |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 429999. Other health sciences not elsewhere classified |
420299. Epidemiology not elsewhere classified | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Agricultural, Computational and Environmental Sciences |
South East Queensland Surgery, Australia | |
University of Queensland | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5743/meta-analysis-a-critical-appraisal-of-the-methodology-benefits-and-drawbacks
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