Introduction to meta-analysis 3: dealing with heterogeneity

Workshop category: 

  • Education and training
Date and Location

Date: 

Tuesday 18 September 2018 - 14:00 to 15:30

Location: 

Lammermuir 1
Contact persons and facilitators

Contact person:

Areti Angeliki Veroniki

Facilitators:

Veroniki AA1
1 School of Education, University of Ioannina, Greece
Target audience

Target audience: 

review authors, researchers

Level of difficulty: 

Intermediate
Type of workshop

Type of workshop : 

Training
Abstract

Abstract:

Objective:
The Cochrane Statistical Methods Group has developed a series of workshops addressing statistical guidelines as formulated in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. This workshop will provide review authors with the knowledge to understand and investigate variability across studies in a meta-analysis, and to recognise the limitations of the methods available.

Description:
This training workshop will address approaches to dealing with between-study variability, or heterogeneity, in the results of a series of clinical trials. We first will discuss some potential sources of between-study variability, and provide an overview of methods for identifying whether heterogeneity poses a problem in a particular set of studies. We then will focus on issues related to dealing with study variability once it has been identified. In particular, we will discuss the decision about whether or not to combine results; the choice between fixed-effect and random-effects analyses; and the use of subgroup analyses (with a brief mention of meta-regression). Discussion will be supplemented with practical examples from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Relevance to patients and consumers: 

Well conducted and reported systematic reviews underpin evidence synthesis products such as guidelines. Such products directly influence patient care. A core component of many systematic reviews is meta-analysis, which provides a method to quantitatively determine the risks and benefits of an intervention. This workshop aims to increase systematic reviewers’ knowledge of meta-analysis methods, so that these methods are appropriately applied, and more valid conclusions about the effects of an intervention can be drawn.