A practical Guide to do Primary research on Meta-analysis Methodology - Pubrica
                     A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO 
DO  PRIMARY RESEARCH 
ON  META ANALYSIS  
METHODOLOGY
An Academic presentation by
Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, Technical Operations, Pubrica 
 Group: www.pubrica.com
Email: [email protected]
Today's Discussion
Outline
In-Brief  
Introductio
n
Meta-Analysis 
Methodology  
Conclusion
In-Brief
Conventional meta analysis research techniques are extended to accommodate 
 methods and practices found in basic research. Apart from clinical research,  
where consolidation efforts are facilitated by systematic review and meta  
analysis research, basic science occasionally use such rigorous quantitative  
methods. Pubrica blog explains, meta-analyses offer informed estimates for
biological consequences and the range of their variability, which are essential  
for the hypothesis generation and evidence-driven design of translational  
studies, as well as the development of computational models
Introduction
Evidence-based practise aims to combine the best  
evidence with clinical and patient expertise.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are necessary  
tools for combining evidence needed for clinical decision  
making and policy.
Systematic reviews help combine available literature  
using specific search parameters followed by logical  
synthesis of multiple primary studies and critical appraisal.
Contd...
Meta-analysis denotes the statistical analysis of the data from other
independent  fundamental studies that focus on the same question.
The objective is to create an estimation about the studied phenomenon,
for  example, the intervention's effectiveness.
In clinical research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses act as an
essential  part of evidence-based medicine.
However, in fundamental science, efforts taken to evaluate literature review in such 
 a quantitative and rigorous form are rare, and narrative reviews are prevalent.
Contd...
The manuscript aims to offer a brief computational resource, theoretical foundation  
and workflow outline for accomplishing a systematic or rapid review monitored by a  
meta-analysis of primary research studies.
Meta-analyses can be a difficult undertaking, requiring tedious screening and  
statistical understanding.
There are various guides found which outline how to undertake a meta-analysis in  
clinical research.
Meta-
Analysis  
Methodology 1. SEARCH AND SELECTION STRATEGIES
The first stage of any review contains formulating a  
primary objective in the form of a research question
or hypothesis.
Reviewers must clearly define the review's aim before  
starting preceding the project, which helps decrease  
the risk of data dredging, where commentators later  
assign meaning to essential findings.
Contd...
Precaution must be taken since the search strategies are formulated for the primary  
objectives to define the secondary objective, which may not completely encompass  
the body of the work needed to address the secondary objective.
Based on the purpose of a review, reviewers select a rapid or systematic review.
The meta-analytic methodology is similar to systematic and rapid reviews; the scope  
of literature assessed tends to be significantly narrower for rapid reviews allowing the  
project to progress faster.
Contd...
Contd...
2. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
Systematic reviews include a comprehensive search that allows the
strategy  reviewers to recognize all related studies in a particular 
topic.
Systematic reviews have the potential to produce information-rich databases
which  permit extensive secondary analysis.
Examine the pool of existing information.
Search standards must be sensitive enough not to miss relevant studies.
Contd...
Important terms and concepts conveyed as index terms and synonymous keywords,  
such as Medical Subject Headings, must be collected using Boolean operators AND,  
OR and NOT.
Wildcards, Truncation and proximity operatives can help improve the search strategy 
 by providing different wording for the same concept and spelling variation.
Searching approaches can be validated using a selection of expected relevant studies.
If some strategy fails to retrieve one among the selected studies, the research strategy 
 needs further optimization.
Contd...
Updating the search strategy in every iterative step continues until the search  
strategy performs at a satisfactory level.
A comprehensive prediction to return a vast number of studies is not relevant to the  
topic, usually resulting in a specificity of