Statistical properties of methods based on the Q-statistic for constructing a confidence interval for the between-study variance in meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT: The effect sizes of studies included in a meta-analysis do often not share a common true effect size due to differences in for instance the design of the studies. Estimates of this so-called between-study variance are usually imprecise. Hence, reporting a confidence interval together with a point estimate of the amount of between-study variance facilitates interpretation of the meta-analytic results. Two methods that are recommended to be used for creating such a confidence interval are the Q-profile and generalized Q-statistic method that both make use of the Q-statistic. These methods are exact if the assumptions underlying the random-effects model hold, but these assumptions are usually violated in practice such that confidence intervals of the methods are approximate rather than exact

SUBMITTER: van Aert RCM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6590162 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature