Getting started with meta-analysis
Getting started with meta-analysis
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DOI：
10.1111/j.2041-210x.2010.00056.x
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发表时间：
2011-01-01
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Harrison, Freya
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Harrison, Freya
1.元分析是基础研究和应用研究的一个强大而信息丰富的工具。它提供了一个统计框架，用于综合和比较所有测试特定假设的研究结果。元分析有可能对生态学家和进化生物学家特别有用，因为由于时间和人力的限制，个体实验通常依赖于小样本量，因此统计能力较低。进行荟萃分析的回报可能是巨大的。它可以是对一个主题进行系统综述的基础，为关键假设或理论假设提供了有力的探索，从而影响了一个研究领域的未来发展。或者，对于应用科学家来说，它可以为生态，医学或经济意义的问题提供可靠的答案。然而，计划和进行荟萃分析可能是一个令人生畏的前景和分析本身总是要求和劳动密集型。在计划阶段的错误或遗漏可能会造成数周的额外工作。虽然有一系列有用的资源可以帮助萌芽中的元分析师，但许多关键信息和解释分散在不同的文章和教科书中。为了帮助读者尽可能有效地使用可用的信息（从而避免犯耗时的错误），本文旨在为现有文献提供一个“路线图”。它提供了一个简要的指导，规划，组织和实施元分析，更侧重于逻辑和实施，而不是数学;它的目的是为那些对这个主题感兴趣的人提供第一个停靠港，并应与更详细的书籍和参考文章一起使用。主要是引用和讨论参考文献，强调有用的阅读顺序，而不是元分析及其使用的时间顺序。本文假设读者熟悉方差分析和回归类型的统计模型，但没有荟萃分析的先验知识。
1. Meta-analysis is a powerful and informative tool for basic and applied research. It provides a statistical framework for synthesizing and comparing the results of studies which have all tested a particular hypothesis. Meta-analysis has the potential to be particularly useful for ecologists and evolutionary biologists, as individual experiments often rely on small sample sizes due to the constraints of time and manpower, and therefore have low statistical power.2. The rewards of conducting a meta-analysis can be significant. It can be the basis of a systematic review of a topic that provides a powerful exploration of key hypotheses or theoretical assumptions, thereby influencing the future development of a field of research. Alternatively, for the applied scientist, it can provide robust answers to questions of ecological, medical or economic significance. However, planning and conducting a meta-analysis can be a daunting prospect and the analysis itself is invariably demanding and labour intensive. Errors or omissions made at the planning stage can create weeks of extra work.3. While a range of useful resources is available to help the budding meta-analyst on his or her way, much of the key information and explanation is spread across different articles and textbooks. In order to help the reader use the available information as efficiently as possible (and so avoid making time-consuming errors) this article aims to provide a 'road map' to the existing literature. It provides a brief guide to planning, organizing and implementing a meta-analysis which focuses more on logic and implementation than on maths; it is intended to be a first port of call for those interested in the topic and should be used in conjunction with the more detailed books and articles referenced. In the main, references are cited and discussed with an emphasis on useful reading order rather than a chronological history of meta-analysis and its uses.4. No prior knowledge of meta-analysis is assumed in the current article, though it is assumed that the reader is familiar with ANOVA and regression-type statistical models.