Understanding meta-analysis and synthesizing evidence from multiple studies
When individual studies are performed, they usually involve collecting data from a small portion of the population and an inference is made on that portion or sample. Every individual study has a certain amount of evidence with a level of credibility and uncertainty around that evidence, depending on the size of the study.
When combined, multiple studies will have more credibility and a stronger evidence base than individual studies. For this reason, meta-analysis can be used to combine studies into a more credible synthesis of evidence. The term meta means high level(above), so meta-analysis is a type of analysis where multiple individual studies are combined to create a construct of a new synthesis analysis which is ‘above’ the individual studies due to more evidence.
Figure 12.1 – Meta-analysis example
Meta-analysis is a collection of statistical and...
