Quantitative methods in the review of epidemiologic literature
Greenland, S.
Epidemiologic Reviews 9: 1-30
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0193-936X PMID: 3678409 Document Number: 3283
This paper provides an exposition of basic quantitative methods for literature review, including methods useful in constructing statistical summaries and comparisons of studies, i.e., meta-analytic methods. These methods cannot substitute for qualitative study evaluations, and in particular cannot address unquantified problems that affect study quality. Nevertheless, the methods provide a means of quantifying the extent of heterogeneity among studies, and thus allow assessment of explanations of heterogeneity that have quantitative implications. Most meta-analyses will require from each study both a point estimate of effect and an estimate of its standard error. Therefore, in the interest of facilitating future reviews, authors, referees, and editors should ensure that published abstracts and reports provide both the point estimate for an association and its standard error, or confidence limits (from which an accurate standard error estimate can easily be recovered). As discussed earlier, a point estimate accompanied only by a p value will generally not provide for accurate computation of a standard error estimate, and so should not be considered sufficient for reporting purposes.
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