RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 An index of the quality of evidence in meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 100081
DO 10.1101/100081
A1 Devon D. Brewer
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/08/100081.abstract
AB The quality of evidence in meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials is the degree to which the estimated effect represents the “truth.” Current approaches to assessing the quality of evidence focus on trial design and methods. I describe a new quality of evidence index composed of four sub-indexes that measure pre-registration, independent replication, data availability, and trial design and methods, respectively. This index is systematic, objective, and quantitative. I illustrate the index with an empirical example and provide a spreadsheet for easy calculation.“…when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind.”-Lord Kelvin (William Thompson), 1824-1907