Full Description
Meta-analysis is a series of systematic approaches for synthesizing quantitative research. Since its introduction in the early 1980s, statistical and methodological aspects of meta-analysis have been substantially refined and advanced. This volume brings together researchers from mathematical statistics, research methodology, medical and social sciences who present new developments and applications of meta-analysis. The unique and common problems of these different fields as well as some proposed solutions are presented. The first part of the book is devoted to statistical and methodological advances, with five chapters addressing important statistical issues that are currently under debate. The possibilities and limits of the application of meta-analysis to generalize causal relationships or to evaluate medical treatments, for example, are also discussed. In the second part, applications of meta-analysis are presented, ranging from quality control in the pharmaceutical industry to attitudinal research in social psychology, illustrating the breadth of practical and scientific problems to which meta-analysis can be applied.
Contents
Preface - Part I Theory - Homogeneity Tests in Meta-Analysis, Joachim Hartung, Dogan Argac and Kepher Makambi - Meta-Analysis: A General Principle for Estimating Heterogeneity - Variance in Several Models, Uwe Malzahn - Differences in the Results of Three Meta-Analytical Approaches: Myths and Reality, Ralf Schulze, Heinz Holling, Heiko Grossmann, Andreas Jutting and Michaela Brocke - An Alternative Test Procedure for Meta-Analysis, Joachim Hartung and Guido Knapp - Statistical Tests for the Detection of Bias in Meta-Analysis, Guido Schwarzer, Gerd Antes and Martin Schumacher - Issues of Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Observational Studies, Wilhelm Sauerbrei and Maria Blettner - Meta-Analysis in the Evaluation of Medical Treatments, Armin Koch and Joachim Rohmel - Will it Work in Munster? Meta-Analysis and the Empirical Generalization of Causal Relationships, Georg E. Matt - Meta-Analysis - Not Just Research Synthesis! Uwe Czienskowski - Part II Applications - The Application of Methods of Meta-Analysis for Heterogeneity Modeling in Quality Control and Assurance, Dankmar Bohning and Uwe-Peter Dammann - Influential Factors for Sensitivity and Specificity for Serodiagnosis of Human and Porcine Trichinellosis, Matthias Greiner, Karl Wegscheider, Dankmar Bohning and Susanne Dahms - Meta-Analysis in Hospital and Clinical Epidemiology, Ekkehart Dietz and Klaus Weist - A Generalized Linear Model Incorporating Measurement Error and Heterogeneity Applied to Meta-Analysis of Published Results in Hodgkin's Disease, Jeremy Franklin - The Influence of Design Variables on the Results of Controlled Clinical Trials on Antidepressants: A Meta-Analysis, Claudia Schochlin, Jurgen Klein, Dorothee Abraham-Rudolf, and Rolf R. Engel - On the Moderating Effect of the Principle of Compatibility and Multidimensionality of Beliefs: A Meta-Analysis of the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior, Ralf Schulze and Werner W. Wittmann - META - A Software Package for Meta-Analysis, Peter Schlattmann, Uwe Malzahn, and Dankmar Bohning - Author Index - Subject Index
