Reducing the biases of the conventional meta-analysis of correlations.

ABSTRACT: Conventional meta-analyses (both fixed and random effects) of correlations are biased due to the mechanical relationship between the estimated correlation and its standard error. Simulations that are closely calibrated to match actual research conditions widely seen across correlational studies in psychology corroborate these biases and suggest two solutions: UWLS₊₃ and HS. UWLS₊₃ is a simple inverse-variance weighted average (the unrestricted weighted least squares) that adjusts the degrees of freedom and thereby reduces small-sample bias to scientific negligibility. UWLS₊₃ as well as the Hunter and Schmidt approach (HS) are less biased than conventional random-effects estimates of correlations and Fisher's z, whether or not there is publication sel

SUBMITTER: Stanley TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12631149 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature