How to do a meta-analysis step by step?
Short answer
A meta-analysis combines effect sizes from multiple studies into a pooled estimate. The key steps are: define your question, systematically find and select studies, extract effect sizes, choose a statistical model (usually random-effects), compute the pooled estimate, assess heterogeneity, test for publication bias, and report results with forest plots following PRISMA guidelines.
Execution Steps
- 1Define your research question and eligibility criteria using PICO.
- 2Conduct a systematic search and select studies (following PRISMA).
- 3Extract effect sizes (OR, RR, MD, SMD) and their confidence intervals from each study.
- 4Choose your model: random-effects (most common) or fixed-effect.
- 5Compute the pooled estimate and generate a forest plot.
- 6Assess heterogeneity using I-squared, Q-test, and prediction intervals.
- 7Check for publication bias using funnel plots and Egger's test.
- 8Report results following PRISMA and meta-analysis reporting guidelines.
Prompt Template
Help me plan a meta-analysis on [topic]. I have [N] included studies with [outcome type]. Which effect measure and model should I use?
Common Failure Points
- Pooling studies that are too heterogeneous to combine meaningfully
- Using fixed-effect model when studies come from different populations
- Ignoring publication bias (small studies with null results may be missing)
- Not checking whether included studies still look safe to trust before finalizing results
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