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A guide to prospective meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
In a prospective meta-analysis (PMA), study selection criteria, hypotheses, and analyses are specified before the results of the studies related to the PMA research question are known, reducing many of the problems associated with a traditional (retrospective) meta-analysis. PMAs have many advantages: they can help reduce research waste and bias, and they are adaptive, efficient, and collaborative. Despite an increase in the number of health research articles labelled as PMAs, the methodology remains rare, novel, and often misunderstood. This paper provides detailed guidance on how to address the key elements for conducting a high quality PMA with a case study to illustrate each step.
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“Furthermore, planning a prospective meta-analysis can in some situations help achieve sufficient power by pooling the results from multiple trials.414”
From SPIRIT 2025 explanation and elaboration: updated guideline for protocols of randomised trials (2025) · cites this paper as [414]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Seidler, A. L., Hunter, K. E., Cheyne, S., Ghersi, D., Berlin, J. A., & Askie, L.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Johnson & Johnson (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Seidler, Anna Lene
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2019-10-09
- Volume
- 367
- Pages
- l5342
- ISSN
- 1756-1833 (ISSN-L)
- 0959-8138
- OpenAlex
- W2979464746
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 20
- FWCI
- 10.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.bmj.com/company/legal-information/terms-conditions/legal-information/tdm-licencepolicy (tdm)
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- The Sydney eScholarship Repository (The University of Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Keywords
- study selection criteria, hypothesis specification, research bias, research waste, research collaboration, health research methodology
- MeSH terms
- Systematic Reviews as Topic, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Humans, Prospective Studies, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Guidelines as Topic
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