Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38195955›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of epidemiology2024

Higher-order evidence.

Stephen R Cole, Bonnie E Shook-Sa, Paul N Zivich, Jessie K Edwards, David B Richardson, Michael G Hudgens

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of epidemiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Combining Observational Studies to Reduce Multiple Biases.Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026
    Article
  2. Risk functions with outcome measurement error.Biostatistics (Oxford, England) · 2026
    Article
  3. A minimal nontrivial example of higher-order evidence.American journal of epidemiology · 2025
    Article
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

6 authors.

Stephen R ColeDepartment of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. cole@unc.edu.
Bonnie E Shook-SaDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Paul N ZivichDepartment of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Jessie K EdwardsDepartment of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
David B RichardsonDepartment of Epidemiology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Michael G HudgensDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Funding

Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology CoreP30AI050410 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI DAVID M. MARGOLIS · 2001 to 2026
$76.9M
Improved analysis of experiments and observational studies in HIVR01AI157758 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Stephen R Cole, Jessie Edwards · 2020 to 2026
$5.0M
NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI050410NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI157758NIH HHS P30AI50410NIH HHS R01AI157758
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Higher-order evidence is evidence about evidence. Epidemiologic examples of higher-order evidence include the settings where the study data constitute first-order evidence and estimates of misclassification comprise the second-order evidence (e.g., sensitivity, specificity) of a binary exposure or outcome collected in the main study. While sampling variability in higher-order evidence is typically acknowledged, higher-order evidence is often assumed to be free of measurement error (e.g., gold standard measures). Here we provide two examples, each with multiple scenarios where second-order evidence is imperfectly measured, and this measurement error can either amplify or attenuate standard corrections to first-order evidence. We propose a way to account for such imperfections that requires third-order evidence. Further illustrations and exploration of how higher-order evidence impacts results of epidemiologic studies is warranted.

Indexed as

BiasHumansSensitivity and SpecificityBiasErrorMeasurementMisclassificationStatisticsValidation data

Identifiers

PMID38195955
PMCPMC11129850

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.