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. 2016 Jun;26(2):121-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11065-016-9319-z. Epub 2016 May 21.

A Guide to Conducting a Meta-Analysis

Mike W-L Cheung  1 , Ranjith Vijayakumar  2
Affiliations

A Guide to Conducting a Meta-Analysis

Mike W-L Cheung et al. Neuropsychol Rev. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Meta-analysis is widely accepted as the preferred method to synthesize research findings in various disciplines. This paper provides an introduction to when and how to conduct a meta-analysis. Several practical questions, such as advantages of meta-analysis over conventional narrative review and the number of studies required for a meta-analysis, are addressed. Common meta-analytic models are then introduced. An artificial dataset is used to illustrate how a meta-analysis is conducted in several software packages. The paper concludes with some common pitfalls of meta-analysis and their solutions. The primary goal of this paper is to provide a summary background to readers who would like to conduct their first meta-analytic study.

Keywords: Literature review; Meta-analysis; Moderator analysis; Systematic review.

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