Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25969128›Full record

SynthesisRisk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis2015

Rethinking Meta-Analysis: Applications for Air Pollution Data and Beyond.

Julie E Goodman, Catherine Petito Boyce, Sonja N Sax, Leslie A Beyer, Robyn L Prueitt

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. A primer on systematic reviews in toxicology.Archives of toxicology · 2017
    Pooled it
  5. Article
  6. Frontiers in microbiology · 2017
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Julie E GoodmanGradient, 20 University Rd., Ste. 5, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Catherine Petito BoyceGradient, Seattle, WA.
Sonja N SaxGradient, Cambridge, MA.
Leslie A BeyerGradient, Cambridge, MA.
Robyn L PrueittGradient, Seattle, WA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Meta-analyses offer a rigorous and transparent systematic framework for synthesizing data that can be used for a wide range of research areas, study designs, and data types. Both the outcome of meta-analyses and the meta-analysis process itself can yield useful insights for answering scientific questions and making policy decisions. Development of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards illustrates many potential applications of meta-analysis. These applications demonstrate the strengths and limitations of meta-analysis, issues that arise in various data realms, how meta-analysis design choices can influence interpretation of results, and how meta-analysis can be used to address bias and heterogeneity. Reviewing available data from a meta-analysis perspective can provide a useful framework and impetus for identifying and refining strategies for future research. Moreover, increased pervasiveness of a meta-analysis mindset-focusing on how the pieces of the research puzzle fit together-would benefit scientific research and data syntheses regardless of whether or not a quantitative meta-analysis is undertaken. While an individual meta-analysis can only synthesize studies addressing the same research question, the results of separate meta-analyses can be combined to address a question encompassing multiple data types. This observation applies to any scientific or policy area where information from a variety of disciplines must be considered to address a broader research question.

Indexed as

Air PollutionEnvironmental ExposureHumansAir pollutantsbiasdata synthesisheterogeneitymeta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID25969128
PMCPMC4690509

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.