Overview
We introduce the merits of meta-analysis and how it can form an important and informative part of a systematic review. We explain the most common statistical methods for conducting a meta-analysis and common issues that may be encountered along the way. The following topics are covered:
- An introduction to meta-analysis and its place in evidence-based research.
- Outcome measures and extracting relevant data from journal articles
- Fixed effect and random-effects models
- Heterogeneity between studies
- How to identify and deal with publication bias.
Concessions
A 50% discount is available for UCL staff, students, alumni. If you're eligible for a discount, email ich.statscou@ucl.ac.uk before booking to be sent the discount code.
The course is available for free to those associated with the Institute of Child Health or Great Ormond Street Hospital, and UCL doctoral students. Please also email ich.statscou@ucl.ac.uk to gain a booking code.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, delegates should be able to conduct a meta-analysis of their own and interpret the results of meta-analyses published in journal articles. In particular, delegates will be able to:
- Understand what meta-analysis is and when it’s appropriate.
- Extract the relevant data from quantitative journal articles.
- Perform simple calculations to get the data in the correct format ready for meta-analysis
- Understand the underlying theory behind the most common statistical models, and what they assume.
- Quantify and explore heterogeneity between studies through meta-regression and subgroup analysis.
Find out about other statistics courses
CASC's stats courses are suitable for anyone requiring an understanding of research methodology and statistical analyses. The courses allow non-statisticians to interpret published research and/or undertake their own research studies.
Find out more about CASC's full range of statistics courses.
