Basics of meta-analysis
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POSTGRADUATE CORNER: RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Basics of meta-analysis Ayesha Shah 1,2,3
&
Michael P. Jones 4 & Gerald J. Holtmann 1,2,3
Received: 8 August 2020 / Accepted: 29 September 2020 # Indian Society of Gastroenterology 2020
Abstract Meta-analysis is an approach to formally, systematically and quantitatively analyze multiple existing research studies and to synthesize new research findings based upon the existing data. Until the late 1970s, meta-analyses were not regularly reported in the medical literature, but since then there has been an exponential growth of meta-analyses and they are now among the most frequently cited form of research. A properly performed systematic review and meta-analysis is a very important tool in evidencebased medicine and a good understanding of the steps involved in doing a systematic review and meta-analysis is important to yield meaningful results. The purpose of this review article is to provide a brief overview about systematic reviews and metaanalyses and the underlying principles for conducting this type of research. Methodological approaches for conducting a meticulous meta-analysis are described and the important steps involved in the interpretation and presentation of metaanalysis are outlined and discussed. The key objective of this paper is to outline a step-by-step approach that is useful to all researchers, who would like to conduct their first meta-analysis. This paper also provides clinicians and researchers with the information to interpret systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Keywords Bias . Evidence-based medicine . Meta-analysis . Systematic review
Introduction As early as 1904, the English mathematician and biostatistician Karl Pearson [1] collected data from multiple studies assessing typhoid inoculation and used a meta-analytic methodology to collate and summarize the results of multiple studies [2]. The term ‘meta-analysis’, however, was coined decades later in 1976 by the statistician Gene V. Glass [3], who is now known as the modern-day founder of this methodology. This statistical theory was further developed by John E. Hunter, Harris Cooper, Ingram Olkin, Nambury S. Raju, Jacob Cohen, Frank L. Schmidt, Thomas C. Chalmers, Douglas G. Bonett, Larry V. Hedges and Robert Rosenthal. * Gerald J. Holtmann [email protected] 1
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
2
Translational Research Institute Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD, Australia
3
Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
4
Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
The Cochrane collaboration defines a systematic review as ‘a scientific process where all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria are collated in order to answer a specific research question’. This includes the systematic identification, selection, synthesis, documentation and evaluation of original research studies with the intention to create a high-grade synopsis of a subject in
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