382,895 papers found

The meta-analysis of homeopathy trials that appeared in the Lancet in 1997 seemed to endorse the experience of practitioners and patients that homeopathic medicines have specific clinically relevant effects. However, results from later unsuccessful trials, and negative inferences from a review of trials for a condition…

When combining results from separate investigations in a meta-analysis, random effects methods enable the modelling of differences between studies by incorporating a heterogeneity parameter tau 2 that accounts explicitly for across-study variation. We develop a simple form for the variance of Cochran's homogeneity stat…

In order to become knowledgeable consumers of nursing research, nursing students must be able to critically read research and determine the study's value for nursing practice. As the number of nursing intervention studies rises and research topics are studied more extensively, the use of meta-analysis in the discipline…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test battery currently used for pilot selection to the Norwegian Air Force. Selection is currently based on a standard battery of 20 different psychological tests as well as on medical tests and on an interview by a licensed psychologist. First, two-factor analyses were con…

Within the context of the general superiority of meta-analytic reviews over qualitative reviews, we emphasize the fragility of meta-analytic outcomes, especially when the effects of moderator variables remain unexamined. We consider the contribution to increased theoretical understanding made by moderator analyses both…

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with onset in later life has been reported to have a clinical presentation different from that in younger individuals; however, the disease manifestations typical of older-onset SLE patients are known to vary widely among published studies. Meta-analysis is a statistical process capab…

Reviews 48 outcome studies that applied self-statement modification (SSM) to childhood behavior disorders. Selection criteria restricted the review to controlled experimental studies and to children with disorders of clinically relevant severity. Meta-analysis was used to provide summary information about the observed…

The results of a multicentre prospective randomized study are presented as a meta-analysis, comparing a new non-ionic iodinated contrast medium, iopromide, with the ionic low osmolar medium, ioxaglate. It shows the better safety of iopromide in 322 patients, with a statistically significant difference for the following…

We argue that researchers should test less, estimate more, and adopt Open Science practices. We outline some of the flaws of null hypothesis significance testing and take three approaches to demonstrating the unreliability of the p value. We explain some advantages of estimation and meta-analysis ("the new statistics")…

Meta-analysis is often recognized as the highest level of evidence due to its notable advantages. Therefore, ensuring the precision of its findings is of utmost importance. Insufficient reporting in primary studies poses challenges for meta-analysts, hindering study identification, effect size estimation, and meta-regr…

Through a meta-analysis, Mupepele et al. (BMC Ecol Evol 21:1-193, 2021) assessed the effects of European agroforestry systems on biodiversity, estimated by species richness or species diversity. They showed that the effects of silvoarable and silvopastoral systems depend on the systems they are compared to and the taxa…

In order to capture trends in the contribution of epidemiology to cancer research, we describe an online meta-analysis database resource for cancer clinical and population research and illustrate trends and descriptive detail of cancer meta-analyses from 2008 through 2013. A total of 4,686 cancer meta-analyses met our…

Previous research has suggested that judgment calls (i.e., methodological choices made in the process of conducting a meta-analysis) have a strong influence on meta-analytic findings and question their robustness. However, prior research applies case study comparison or reanalysis of a few meta-analyses with a focus on…

Meta-analysis multiplicity, the concept of conducting multiple tests of statistical significance within one review, is an underdeveloped literature. We address this issue by considering how Type I errors can impact meta-analytic results, suggest how statistical power may be affected through the use of multiplicity corr…

INTRODUCTION: Endometriosis, a chronic oestrogen-dependent disorder, presents significant clinical challenges including pelvic pain, dysmenorrhoea, dyspareunia and infertility. While numerous interventions exist, evidence guiding the choice among surgical, hormonal and non-hormonal therapies is fragmented. This protoco…

OBJECTIVES: To support systematic reviewers new to network meta-analysis (NMA), we (1) identified and described published methods resources for conducting systematic reviews (SRs) with NMA of randomized controlled trials (RCTs); (2) mapped the resources to the typical steps for conducting NMAs; and (3) identified NMA g…

The article by De Oliveira et al. presents an insightful systematic review and meta analysis comparing intravenous tirofiban and oral aspirin in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. It has sparked substantial discussions among my colleagues and me, particularly regarding the optimal circumstances for administering int…

Systematic reviews involve synthesis of research to inform decision making by clinicians, consumers, policy makers and researchers. While guidance for synthesis often focuses on meta-analysis, synthesis begins with specifying the 'PICO for each synthesis' (i.e. the criteria for deciding which populations, interventions…

BACKGROUND: One of the claimed main advantages of individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) is that it allows assessment of subgroup effects based on individual-level participant characteristics, and eventually stratified medicine. In this study, we evaluated the conduct and results of subgroup analyses in IPDM…