The Use of Prospective Meta-Analysis

Meta-analysis is a powerful statistical instrument to summarize the knowledge in a research field, and to estimate overall measures of effects based on reported or unreported results. In performing meta-analysis is generally used the results of the reported trials. Knowing the results before the meta-analysis may affect the description of the review query, the entry and exclusion specifications because the researchers may also be prejudiced in selecting favor of reports supportive for their own thoughts. With these problems the retrospective meta-analysis is becoming a controversial tool in terms of “bias”. The prospective meta-analysis can cope with these problems of the retrospective meta-analysis. A prospective meta-analysis is a type of next-generation systematic reviews where studies are investigated to be eligible before reporting their original studies. Prospective Meta-Analysis is unaware of the results of all studies because of the prospective identification and application of selection criteria for trials. In this paper, it is aimed to give information about Prospective Meta-Analysis, and to promote the use.

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