A guide to prospective meta-analysis

Anna Lene Seidler; Kylie E. Hunter; Saskia Cheyne; Davina Ghersi; Jesse A. Berlin; Lisa Askie

doi:10.1136/bmj.l5342

A guide to prospective meta-analysis

Anna Lene Seidler^*, Kylie E. Hunter, Saskia Cheyne, Davina Ghersi, Jesse A. Berlin, Lisa Askie

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

99 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In a prospective meta-analysis (PMA), study selection criteria, hypotheses, and analyses are specified before the results of the studies related to the PMA research question are known, reducing many of the problems associated with a traditional (retrospective) meta-analysis. PMAs have many advantages: they can help reduce research waste and bias, and they are adaptive, efficient, and collaborative. Despite an increase in the number of health research articles labelled as PMAs, the methodology remains rare, novel, and often misunderstood. This paper provides detailed guidance on how to address the key elements for conducting a high quality PMA with a case study to illustrate each step.

Original language	English
Article number	l5342
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	BMJ
Volume	367
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l5342
Publication status	Published - 9 Oct 2019
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 620 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

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A guide to prospective meta-analysis

Abstract

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