A System for Comprehensive Meta-Analysis

描述（申请人提供）：荟萃分析已成为标准 循证医学中将来自不同方面信息结合起来的技术 测试类似医学治疗、程序和 诊断工具。因此，它被许多政府机构广泛使用， 临床咨询小组、政策制定者、提供者和用户做出决策 重要的临床和公共政策问题因为元分析 报告在临床实践中变得如此有影响力， 技术似乎简单，如果费力，缺乏经验的研究人员 试图进行荟萃分析此外，政策需求扩大了许多 研究从狭隘地关注某种疾病的特定治疗， 考虑治疗疾病的最佳方法。这一更广泛 视角大大扩展了所需审查和分析的范围。因此，在本发明中， 现在非常需要工具来有效地执行所涉及的任务。 虽然新的方法和新的计算技术现在使更彻底， 强大的荟萃分析技术上可行，许多荟萃分析仍然采用 过时的方法使用简单的工具，如电子表格，因为用户没有 无论是新技术的使用还是新技术的指导。研究人员，两者 经验丰富和缺乏经验的人，都可以从软件中受益匪浅， 指导和协助分析员从开始到结束。这样的软件将保持 跟踪筛选的摘要、恢复的论文和提取的数据;提供 这些活动的标准化形式，用户可以自定义;提供 复杂的分析与软件设计，以指导用户通过 分析过程;提供即时模型诊断和敏感性分析; 提供为荟萃分析定制的演示质量图形;并简化 通过将数据存储和分析自动链接到 表格报告格式。现有的软件，即使是明确设计用于 荟萃分析缺乏这些特征。我们建议弥补这一不足 1）构建菜单驱动的荟萃分析软件，包括四个 独立的功能模块（摘要筛选助理，数据提取 数据分析助理和报表生成助理）， 将通用前端转换为无缝程序; 2）编写手册（和在线帮助） 3）将软件培训纳入现有的 元分析研讨会。

Description (provided by applicant): Meta-analysis has become a standard technique in evidence-based medicine for combining information from different studies testing the efficacy of similar medical treatments, procedures and diagnostic tools. As such, it is widely used by many government agencies, clinical advisory groups, policy makers, providers and users to make decisions about important clinical and public policy questions. Because meta-analytic reports have become so influential in clinical practice and because the techniques appear straightforward, if laborious, inexperienced researchers are attempting meta-analyses. Furthermore, policy needs have expanded many investigations from a narrow focus on a particular treatment for a disease to consideration of the optimal approach for treating the disease. This broader perspective greatly expands the scope of the review and analysis needed. Thus, the need for tools to efficiently perform the tasks involved is now great. Although new methods and new computing technology now make more thorough and robust meta-analysis technically feasible, many meta-analyses still employ outdated methods using simple tools like spreadsheets because users do not have either access to or guidance in the new technology. Researchers, both experienced and inexperienced, could benefit immensely from software geared to guide and assist the analyst from start to finish. Such software would keep track of abstracts screened, papers recovered and data extracted; provide standardized forms for these activities that the user could customize; offer sophisticated analysis with software designed to guide the user through the analytic process; provide immediate model diagnostics and sensitivity analysis; offer presentation quality graphics customized for meta-analysis; and simplify report construction by automatically linking data storage and analysis with tabular report formats. Existing software, even that designed explicitly for meta-analysis, lacks many of these features. We propose to remedy that deficit by 1) building menu-driven software for meta-analysis which consists of four independently functional modules (Abstract Screening Assistant, Data Extraction Assistant, Data Analysis Assistant, and Report Building Assistant) linked by a common front-end into a seamless program; 2) writing a manual (and online help) to accompany the software; and 3) incorporating software training into existing meta-analysis workshops.