Meta-analysis
DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.
A statistical procedure frequently used in medicine, based on the summarized evaluation of various primary examinations. In a meta-analysis, the empirical individual results of content-wise homogeneous primary studies are combined into an overall result with the aim of finding out whether an effect exists at all and how great it is. In contrast to the method of meta-analysis, qualitative methods are used, in which subjective assessment attempts to draw conclusions from the content of the primary studies. Here, of course, an erroneous conclusion or evaluation of the result is much more common than with a meta-analysis approach.
General informationThis section has been translated automatically.
Combining the various results into a "meta-result", i.e. the mean value, is called "pooling". The aim is to obtain more precise statements about the effectiveness of a therapy, for example, by pooling the data. The terms meta-analysis andsystematic review are sometimes used interchangeably. However, meta-analysis correctly refers to a statistical procedure, whereas a "systematic review" is a study design. Meta-analyses are usually used in the context of a "systematic review".
In medicine, meta-analyses are primarily carried out as part of systematic reviews. Here, the literature on a specific question is systematically examined and evaluated according to certain criteria.