Meta-analysis: a tool for medical and scientific discoveries.
PubMedPublished 1 July 1992Open access
Cathrina L. Schell, Richard Rathe
Citations19
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TL;DR
A brief historical perspective on the use of meta-analysis in medicine with emphasis on the medical library is presented and it is concluded that medical librarians will play a significant role in the application of this useful technique.
Abstract
Medicine has made increasing use of meta-analysis, largely as a quantitative procedure for combining results of clinical trials. Meta-analysis begins with a comprehensive review of the literature. The next step is a systematic analysis of the quality and content of each study. Finally, results are combined statistically and conclusions are drawn from this new overview of the data. This paper presents a brief historical perspective on the use of meta-analysis in medicine with emphasis on the medical library. The authors conclude that in the future, medical librarians will play a significant role in the application of this useful technique.
Keywords
Decision SciencesMedicineHealth Professions
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