Journal ArticleDOI
Operating characteristics of a rank correlation test for publication bias.
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TLDR
In this paper, an adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations, and the test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular funnel-graph.Abstract:
An adjusted rank correlation test is proposed as a technique for identifying publication bias in a meta-analysis, and its operating characteristics are evaluated via simulations. The test statistic is a direct statistical analogue of the popular "funnel-graph." The number of component studies in the meta-analysis, the nature of the selection mechanism, the range of variances of the effect size estimates, and the true underlying effect size are all observed to be influential in determining the power of the test. The test is fairly powerful for large meta-analyses with 75 component studies, but has only moderate power for meta-analyses with 25 component studies. However, in many of the configurations in which there is low power, there is also relatively little bias in the summary effect size estimate. Nonetheless, the test must be interpreted with caution in small meta-analyses. In particular, bias cannot be ruled out if the test is not significant. The proposed technique has potential utility as an exploratory tool for meta-analysts, as a formal procedure to complement the funnel-graph.read more
Citations
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Sedative hypnotics in older people with insomnia: meta-analysis of risks and benefits
TL;DR: Improvements in sleep with sedative use are statistically significant, but the magnitude of effect is small, and the increased risk of adverse events is statistically significant and potentially clinically relevant in older people at risk of falls and cognitive impairment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Statistical issues in ecological meta‐analyses
TL;DR: A number of considerations related to choosing methods for the meta-analysis of ecological data, including the choice of parametric vs. resampling methods, reasons for conducting weighted analyses where possible, and comparisons fixed vs. mixed models in categorical and regression-type analyses are outlined.
Journal ArticleDOI
Prevalence and incidence of epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of international studies.
Kirsten M. Fiest,Khara M. Sauro,Samuel Wiebe,Scott B. Patten,Churl-Su Kwon,Jonathan Dykeman,Tamara Pringsheim,Diane L. Lorenzetti,Nathalie Jette +8 more
TL;DR: This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy from published international studies and offers insight into factors that contribute to heterogeneity between estimates.
Journal ArticleDOI
Association Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Risk of Major Cardiovascular Disease Events: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, a meta-regression analysis was performed for the omega-3 dose for the presence of blinding, the prevention settings, and patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.
Journal ArticleDOI
Objectively measured physical capability levels and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis
TL;DR: Objective measures of physical capability are predictors of all cause mortality in older community dwelling populations and may provide useful tools for identifying older people at higher risk of death.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Publication bias in clinical research
TL;DR: The presence of publication bias in a cohort of clinical research studies is confirmed and it is suggested that conclusions based only on a review of published data should be interpreted cautiously, especially for observational studies.
Book
Summing Up: The Science of Reviewing Research
TL;DR: A Checklist for Evaluating Reviews Reference Index as discussed by the authors is a checklist for evaluating reviews that is based on a reviewing strategy and a review review strategy that is organized by the division of labor.
Journal ArticleDOI
Summing Up: The Science of Reviewing Research.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarize the science of reviewing research, including the review process, the review review process itself, and the reviewer's role in reviewing research articles, as well as the process of reviewing the review articles.
Journal ArticleDOI
Factors Influencing Publication of Research Results: Follow-up of Applications Submitted to Two Institutional Review Boards
TL;DR: There was evidence of publication bias in that for both institutional review boards there was an association between results reported to be significant and publication and contrary to popular opinion, publication bias originates primarily with investigators, not journal editors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Publication bias : a problem in interpreting medical data
Colin B. Begg,Jesse A. Berlin +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the available research, discuss alternative suggestions for conducting unbiased meta-analysis and suggest some scientific policy measures which could improve the quality of published data in the long term.