Evidence map›Paper›PMID 9492687›Full record

ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)1998

Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. Graphical test is itself biased.

L Irwig, P Macaskill, G Berry, P Glasziou

Abstract readCommentLetter
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 120 papers, 83 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
120citing papers in PubMed, 83 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

120 citing papers in PubMed, 83 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Minimizing blood sampling in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026
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60 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

L Irwig
P Macaskill
G Berry
P Glasziou

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

PubMed holds no abstract for this paper.

Indexed as

Meta-Analysis as TopicPublication BiasRegression AnalysisSensitivity and Specificity

Identifiers

PMID9492687
PMCPMC2665595

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.