Premium
Inferences About the Between‐Study Variance in Meta‐Analysis with Normally Distributed Outcomes
Author(s) -
Tian Lili
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
biometrical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-4036
pISSN - 0323-3847
DOI - 10.1002/bimj.200710408
Subject(s) - confidence interval , variance (accounting) , inference , statistics , meta analysis , variance components , analysis of variance , econometrics , computer science , statistical inference , ideal (ethics) , mathematics , medicine , artificial intelligence , philosophy , accounting , epistemology , business
This paper presents a new approach for confidence interval estimation of the between‐study variance in meta‐analysis with normally distributed responses based on the concepts of generalized variables. Simulation study shows that the coverage probabilities of the proposed confidence intervals are generally satisfactory. Moreover, the proposed approach can easily provide P ‐values for hypothesis testing. For meta‐analysis of controlled clinical trials or epidemiological studies, within which the responses are normally distributed, the proposed approach is an ideal candidate for making inference about the between‐study variance. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)