The Library
Meta-analysis, complexity, and heterogeneity : a qualitative interview study of researchers’ methodological values and practices
Tools
Lorenc, Theo, Felix, Lambert, Petticrew, Mark, Melendez-Torres, G. J., Thomas, James, Thomas, Sian, O’Mara-Eves, Alison and Richardson, Michelle (2016) Meta-analysis, complexity, and heterogeneity : a qualitative interview study of researchers’ methodological values and practices. Systematic Reviews, 5 (1). doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0366-6 ISSN 2046-4053.
PDF
WRAP_art%3A10.1186%2Fs13643-016-0366-6.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (722Kb) |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0366-6
Abstract
Background:
Complex or heterogeneous data pose challenges for systematic review and meta-analysis. In recent years, a number of new methods have been developed to meet these challenges. This qualitative interview study aimed to understand researchers’ understanding of complexity and heterogeneity and the factors which may influence the choices researchers make in synthesising complex data.
Methods:
We conducted interviews with a purposive sample of researchers (N = 19) working in systematic review or meta-analysis across a range of disciplines. We analysed data thematically using a framework approach.
Results:
Participants reported using a broader range of methods and data types in complex reviews than in traditional reviews. A range of techniques are used to explore heterogeneity, but there is some debate about their validity, particularly when applied post hoc.
Conclusions:
Technical considerations of how to synthesise complex evidence cannot be isolated from questions of the goals and contexts of research. However, decisions about how to analyse data appear to be made in a largely informal way, drawing on tacit expertise, and their relation to these broader questions remains unclear.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Systematic reviews (Medical research), Medical research personnel -- Interviews | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Systematic Reviews | ||||||||
Publisher: | BioMed Central Ltd. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 2046-4053 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 16 November 2016 | ||||||||
Dates: |
|
||||||||
Volume: | 5 | ||||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1186/s13643-016-0366-6 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 17 November 2016 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 17 November 2016 | ||||||||
Funder: | Medical Research Council (Great Britain) (MRC), Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC), NHS West Midlands | ||||||||
Grant number: | MR/K024167/1 (MRC) |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year