SynthesisStatistical methods in medical research2021
Exploring consequences of simulation design for apparent performance of methods of meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Statistical methods in medical research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Estimation of heterogeneity variance based on a generalized Q statistic in meta-analysis of log-odds-ratio.Research synthesis methods · 2023Pooled it
- On the Q statistic with constant weights in meta-analysis of binary outcomes.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring consequences of simulation design for apparent performance of methods of meta-analysis.Statistical methods in medical research · 2021Pooled it
- Meta-analysis with Jeffreys priors: Empirical frequentist properties.Research synthesis methods · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Contemporary statistical publications rely on simulation to evaluate performance of new methods and compare them with established methods. In the context of random-effects meta-analysis of log-odds-ratios, we investigate how choices in generating data affect such conclusions. The choices we study include the overall log-odds-ratio, the distribution of probabilities in the control arm, and the distribution of study-level sample sizes. We retain the customary normal distribution of study-level effects. To examine the impact of the components of simulations, we assess the performance of the best available inverse-variance-weighted two-stage method, a two-stage method with constant sample-size-based weights, and two generalized linear mixed models. The results show no important differences between fixed and random sample sizes. In contrast, we found differences among data-generation models in estimation of heterogeneity variance and overall log-odds-ratio. This sensitivity to design poses challenges for use of simulation in choosing methods of meta-analysis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.