CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 205Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsStatistical Methods and Bayesian InferenceAdvanced Causal Inference Techniques

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Neither fixed nor random: weighted least squares meta‐regression

Open access
Stanley, T. D., Doucouliagos, Hristos·2017·Research Synthesis Methods
DOI 10.1002/jrsm.1211
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Our study revisits and challenges two core conventional meta-regression estimators: the prevalent use of 'mixed-effects' or random-effects meta-regression analysis and the correction of standard errors that defines fixed-effects meta-regression analysis (FE-MRA). We show how and explain why an unrestricted weighted least squares MRA (WLS-MRA) estimator is superior to conventional random-effects (or mixed-effects) meta-regression when there is publication (or small-sample) bias that is as good as FE-MRA in all cases and better than fixed effects in most practical applications. Simulations and statistical theory show that WLS-MRA provides satisfactory estimates of meta-regression coefficients that are practically equivalent to mixed effects or random effects when there is no publication bias. When there is publication selection bias, WLS-MRA always has smaller bias than mixed effects or random effects. In practical applications, an unrestricted WLS meta-regression is likely to give practically equivalent or superior estimates to fixed-effects, random-effects, and mixed-effects meta-regression approaches. However, random-effects meta-regression remains viable and perhaps somewhat preferable if selection for statistical significance (publication bias) can be ruled out and when random, additive normal heterogeneity is known to directly affect the 'true' regression coefficient. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/jrsm.1211

Cites

66 of 66 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Show all 67 references

1 of the 67 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Greene WE, 1990, Econometric Analysis
  2. Hopewell S, 2009, Publication bias in clinical trials due to statistical significance or direction of trial result, Cochrane Review
  3. Konstantopoulos S, 2004, Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences, 281
  4. Raudenbush SW, 1994, The Handbook of Research Synthesis, 301
  5. Sharp S, 1998, sbe23: meta‐analysis regression, Stata Technical Bulletin, 42, 16
  6. 10.1111/j.1467-6419.1989.tb00064.x · DOI · Paper page
  7. U.S. Dept. of Transportation, 2011, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, Memorandum: Treatment of the Economic Value of Statistical Life in Departmental Analyses—2011 Interim Adjustment

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 201–205 of 205

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Stanley, T. D., & Doucouliagos, H.
Affiliations
  • Hendrix College (US)
  • Deakin University (AU)
Corresponding author
Stanley, T. D.
ORCID
Venue
Research Synthesis Methods
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-06-20
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
19-42
ISSN
  • 1759-2879 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-2887
DOI
10.1002/jrsm.1211
OpenAlex
W2462813397
Cited by
205
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 2
FWCI
16.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Research Synthesis Methods (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Grantová Agentura České Republiky (15‐02411S)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
Keywords
publication bias, small sample bias, standard error correction, heterogeneity
MeSH terms
Algorithms, Computer Simulation, Humans, Markov Chains, Publishing, Regression Analysis, Research Design, Models, Statistical, Least-Squares Analysis, Publication Bias, Sample Size

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review