HAVE YOU EVER METAANALYSIS YOU DIDNT LIKE

Meta-analysis is a relatively new discipline whose techniques are unfamiliar to many physicians. A meta-analysis should combine the careful thought and synthesis of a good review with the scientific rigor of a good experiment. In the report of a meta-analysis, the data from the combined studies should be displayed so that clinicians can see at a glance the spectrum of results. The justification for combining the results and the sensitivity to underlying assumptions must be made clear. Regardless of the summary number, meta-analyses should shed light on why trials differ, raise research and editorial standards by calling attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the body of research in an area, and provide an objective view of what the research literature says. When a sufficient number of similar studies addresses a topic, a meta-analysis may indicate a quantitative "truth"; however, the computing of weighted averages is a comparatively small part of the process and should not be seen as its most important contribution.