Comparison of bias adjustment methods in meta-analysis suggests that quality effects modeling may have less limitations than other approaches

The quality of primary research is commonly assessed before inclusion in meta-analyses. Findings are discussed in the context of the quality appraisal by categorizing studies according to risk of bias. The impact of appraised risk of bias on study outcomes is typically judged by the reader; however, several methods have been developed to quantify this risk of bias assessment and incorporate it into the pooled results of meta-analysis, a process known as bias adjustment. The advantages, potential limitations, and applicability of these methods are not well defined.

Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology - September 17, 2019 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Jennifer C. Stone, Kathryn Glass, Zachary Munn, Peter Tugwell, Suhail A.R. Doi Tags: Review Source Type: research