Teaching meta-analysis using MetaLight

BMC Research Notes

Mark Newman²  Carole Torgerson¹  Robert Coe¹  Steve Higgins¹  Sergio Graziosi²  James Thomas² 

[1] School of Education, University of Durham, Durham, UK;EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK

关键词: Software;    Teaching resource;    Teaching;    Systematic review;    Research synthesis;    Meta-analysis;   

Others  :  1165451
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-0500-5-571

 received in 2012-05-12, accepted in 2012-10-16,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Meta-analysis is a statistical method for combining the results of primary studies. It is often used in systematic reviews and is increasingly a method and topic that appears in student dissertations. MetaLight is a freely available software application that runs simple meta-analyses and contains specific functionality to facilitate the teaching and learning of meta-analysis. While there are many courses and resources for meta-analysis available and numerous software applications to run meta-analyses, there are few pieces of software which are aimed specifically at helping those teaching and learning meta-analysis. Valuable teaching time can be spent learning the mechanics of a new software application, rather than on the principles and practices of meta-analysis.

Findings

We discuss ways in which the MetaLight tool can be used to present some of the main issues involved in undertaking and interpreting a meta-analysis.

Conclusions

While there are many software tools available for conducting meta-analysis, in the context of a teaching programme such software can require expenditure both in terms of money and in terms of the time it takes to learn how to use it. MetaLight was developed specifically as a tool to facilitate the teaching and learning of meta-analysis and we have presented here some of the ways it might be used in a training situation.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Thomas et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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