Issue Information
(Source: Research Synthesis Methods)
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Tags: ISSUE INFORMATION Source Type: research
Exploring the relevance of the effect of geographical location when searching for studies using Google Search
(Source: Research Synthesis Methods)
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Simon Briscoe Tags: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Source Type: research
Response to: Briscoe “Exploring the relevance of the effect of geographical location when searching for studies using Google Search”
(Source: Research Synthesis Methods)
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Chris Cooper,
Theo Lorenc Tags: LETTER TO THE EDITOR Source Type: research
Data sharing —trialists' plans at registration, attitudes, barriers and facilitators: A cohort study and cross‐sectional survey
AbstractData unavailability impedes research transparency and is a major problem for individual participant data (IPD) meta-analyses as it reduces statistical power, increases risk of bias, and may even preclude completion. The primary objectives of this study were to determine IPD sharing plans reported in recently registered clinical trial registration records, how data sharing commitment relates to clinical trial characteristics, and principal investigators' attitudes, motivations and barriers to data sharing. The secondary objective was to derive recommendations to overcome identified barriers to data sharing. This was...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Aidan Christopher Tan,
Lisa M. Askie,
Kylie Elizabeth Hunter,
Angie Barba,
Robert John Simes,
Anna Lene Seidler Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Evaluation of the comprehensiveness, accuracy and currency of the Cochrane COVID ‐19 Study Register for supporting rapid evidence synthesis production
AbstractThe Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register (CCSR) is a public, continually updated database of COVID-19 study references. The aim of this study-based register is to support rapid and living evidence synthesis, including an evidence ecosystem of COVID-19 research (CEOsys). In November and December 2020, we conducted an evaluation of the CCSR for CEOsys, measured its performance and identified areas for improvement. For the evaluation we generated a purposive sample of 286 studies from 20 reviews to calculate the CCSR's comprehensiveness (sensitivity), accuracy (correctly classified and linked studies) and currency (time t...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Maria ‐Inti Metzendorf,
Robin M. Featherstone Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Enhanced access to recommendations from the Cochrane Handbook for improving authors' judgments about risk of bias: A randomized controlled trial
AbstractThis randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to test the efficacy of enhanced access to Cochrane Handbook (Handbook) recommendations for judging the 2011 Cochrane risk of bias (RoB) domains for improving the adequacy of RoB judgments. Parallel-group RCT with a 1:1 allocation ratio (N = 2271 per group) was conducted. Eligible participants were corresponding authors of all published Cochrane reviews and protocols. After allocation by a random number generator, participants received 20 scenarios for assessing RoB. The intervention group was shown tables from the Handbook with in structions for assessing 2011 RoB too...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Ognjen Barcot,
Matej Ivanda,
Ivan Buljan,
Dawid Pieper,
Livia Puljak Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Estimating the reference interval from a fixed effects meta ‐analysis
AbstractA reference interval provides a basis for physicians to determine whether a measurement is typical of a healthy individual. It can be interpreted as a prediction interval for a new individual from the overall population. However, a reference interval based on a single study may not be representative of the broader population. Meta-analysis can provide a general reference interval based on the overall population by combining results from multiple studies. Methods for estimating the reference interval from a random effects meta-analysis have been recently proposed to incorporate the within and between-study variation...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Wenhao Cao,
Lianne Siegel,
Jincheng Zhou,
Motao Zhu,
Tiejun Tong,
Yong Chen,
Haitao Chu Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Using clinical trial registries to inform Copas selection model for publication bias in meta ‐analysis
Prospective registration of study protocols in clinical trial registries is a useful way to minimize the risk of publication bias in meta-analysis, and several clinical trial registries are available nowadays. However, they are mainly used as a tool for searching studies and information submitted to the registries has not been utilized as efficiently as it could. In addressing publication bias in meta-analyses, sensitivity analysis with the Copas selection model is a more objective alternative to widely-used graphical methods such as the funnel-plot and the trim-and-fill method. Despite its ability to quantify the potentia...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Ao Huang,
Sho Komukai,
Tim Friede,
Satoshi Hattori Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Meta ‐analytic structural equation modeling made easy: A tutorial and web application for one‐stage MASEM
AbstractMeta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) refers to fitting structural equation models (SEMs) (such as path models or factor models) to meta-analytic data. Currently, fitting MASEMs may be challenging for researchers that are not accustomed to working with R software and packages. Therefore, we developed webMASEM; a web application for MASEM. This app implements the one-stage MASEM approach, and allows users to apply MASEM in a user-friendly way. The aim of this article is to provide a tutorial on one-stage MASEM and a practical guide to webMASEM. We will pay specific attention to how the data should be st...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Suzanne Jak,
Hongli Li,
Laura Kolbe,
Hannelies Jonge,
Mike W. ‐L. Cheung Tags: TUTORIAL Source Type: research
Issue Information
(Source: Research Synthesis Methods)
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 5, 2021 Category: Chemistry Tags: ISSUE INFORMATION Source Type: research
Adherence to conflicts of interest policy in Cochrane reviews where authors are also editorial board members: A cross ‐sectional analysis
AbstractCochrane devolves most editorial governance of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), including title prioritization, protocol registration, peer-review, editorial oversight and subsequent review deposition, to specific Cochrane Review Group (CRG) editorial boards. Current Cochrane policy stipulates authors of reviews who are also members of the supporting CRG declare this non-financial conflict of interest and confirm no involvement in the review editorial process. The aim of this cross-sectional analysis was to assess adherence to Cochrane's editorial conflict of interest policy. All 260 published Co...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - September 2, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Rafael Leite Pacheco,
Carolina Oliveira Cruz Latorraca,
Ana Luiza Cabrera Martimbianco,
Enderson Miranda,
Luis Eduardo Santos Fontes,
David Nunan,
Rachel Riera Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Meta ‐regression methods to characterize evidence strength using meaningful‐effect percentages conditional on study characteristics
AbstractMeta-regression analyses usually focus on estimating and testing differences in average effect sizes between individual levels of each meta-regression covariate in turn. These metrics are useful but have limitations: they consider each covariate individually, rather than in combination, and they characterize only the mean of a potentially heterogeneous distribution of effects. We propose additional metrics that address both limitations. Given a chosen threshold representing a meaningfully strong effect size, these metrics address the questions: “For a given joint level of the covariates, what percentage of the po...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - August 27, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Maya B. Mathur,
Tyler J. VanderWeele Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Training sample selection: Impact on screening automation in diagnostic test accuracy reviews
When performing a systematic review, researchers screen the articles retrieved after a broad search strategy one by one, which is time-consuming. Computerised support of this screening process has been applied with varying success. This is partly due to the dependency on large amounts of data to develop models that predict inclusion. In this paper, we present an approach to choose which data to use in model training and compare it with established approaches. We used a dataset of 50 Cochrane diagnostic test accuracy reviews, and each was used as a target review. From the remaining 49 reviews, we selected those that most cl...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - August 26, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Allard J. Altena,
Ren é Spijker,
Mariska M. G. Leeflang,
Sílvia Delgado Olabarriaga Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Cumulative meta analysis: what works
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. (Source: Research Synthesis Methods)
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - August 24, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Elena Kulinskaya,
Eung Yaw Mah Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research
Including non ‐English language articles in systematic reviews: A reflection on processes for identifying low‐cost sources of translation support
AbstractNon-English language (NEL) articles are commonly excluded from published systematic reviews. The high cost associated with professional translation services and associated time commitment are often cited as barriers. Whilst there is debate as to the impact of excluding such articles from systematic reviews, doing so can introduce various biases. In order to encourage researchers to consider including these articles in future reviews, this paper aims to reflect on the experience and process of conducting a systematic review which included NEL articles. It provides an overview of the different approaches used to iden...
Source: Research Synthesis Methods - August 23, 2021 Category: Chemistry Authors: Lauren Rockliffe Tags: DISCUSSION PAPER Source Type: research
