Cited by 515Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsStatistical Methods in EpidemiologyClinical practice guidelines implementation

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Guidelines for reporting meta-epidemiological methodology research

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Murad, Mohammad Hassan, Wang, Zhen·2017·Evidence Based Medicine

DOI 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110713PMC PMC5537553

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Abstract

Published research should be reported to evidence users with clarity and transparency that facilitate optimal appraisal and use of evidence and allow replication by other researchers. Guidelines for such reporting are available for several types of studies but not for meta-epidemiological methodology studies. Meta-epidemiological studies adopt a systematic review or meta-analysis approach to examine the impact of certain characteristics of clinical studies on the observed effect and provide empirical evidence for hypothesised associations. The unit of analysis in meta-epidemiological studies is a study, not a patient. The outcomes of meta-epidemiological studies are usually not clinical outcomes. In this guideline, we adapt items from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) to fit the context of meta-epidemiological studies.

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Liberati, A., Altman, D. G., Tetzlaff, J., Mulrow, C., Gøtzsche, P. C., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Clarke, M., Devereaux, P. J., Kleijnen, J., & Moher, D. (2009) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000100 · Cited by 28,164 · cited 1×
“6–8 In this guide, we adapt the items used in the PRISMA statement 9 for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analysis to fit the setting of meta-epidemiological studies.”
Method
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Method
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“Investigators should, however, inform readers of their certainty in the results, even if this was determined narratively 16 because formal approaches 15 are intended to rate the certainty of evidence about interventions.”
Background
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“41) compared with blinded trials.(11) A third example is a study that explored the effect of trials stopped early for benefit on future research.”
Background
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“The quality of evidence is a highly important step in a systematic review reporting on a treatment effect 15 and is critical for decision making but also may not be relevant to a meta-epidemiological study.”
Background
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Odgaard-Jensen, J., Vist, G. E., Timmer, A., Kunz, R., Akl, E. A., Schünemann, H., Briel, M., Nordmann, A. J., Pregno, S., & Oxman, A. D. (2011) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.mr000012.pub3 · Cited by 439 · cited 2×
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MethodResult
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Intervention Reporting of Published Trials Is Insufficient in Orthopaedic Surgery Journals: Application of the Template for Intervention Description and Replication Checklist
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Around ten percent of most recent Cochrane reviews included outcomes in their literature search strategy and were associated with potentially exaggerated results: A research-on-research study
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“Methods This meta-epidemiological study adheres to the guidelines for reporting meta-epidemiological methodology research [11].”
Method
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Methods and results of studies on reporting guideline adherence are poorly reported: a meta-research study
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“11 We have made available protocols, materials and other pertinent information on Open Science Framework (https:// osf. io/ n4yh5/).”
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“We reported this study according to the guideline for reporting meta-epidemiological methodology research [33].”
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“Empirical and/or meta-epidemiological studies are valuable sources of evidence that can help us examine the relationship between methodological weaknesses and their potential impact on research findings [4].”
Background
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COVID-19 randomized controlled trials in medRxiv and PubMed
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“The reporting of this methodological study followed the reporting guidelines for methodological studies [25] which was adapted from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).”
Method
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Kuitunen, I., Räsänen, K., Gualano, M. R., & Luca, D. D. (2024) · Neonatology · doi:10.1159/000539203 · Cited by 14
“We have reported this review according to meta-epidemiological adaptation of the Preferred Reporting Items in Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline [14, 15].”
Treatment Effects in Randomized and Nonrandomized Studies of Pharmacological Interventions
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Evidence certainty in neonatology—a meta-epidemiological analysis of Cochrane reviews
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“We have reported the findings of this review according to the meta-epidemiological extension of the preferred reporting items in systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guideline [7].”
Quality of clinical practice guidelines in Japan remains low: A cross-sectional meta-epidemiological study
Kataoka, Y., Anan, K., Taito, S., Tsujimoto, Y., Kurata, Y., Wada, Y., Maruta, M., Kanaoka, K., Oide, S., Takahashi, S., et al. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.06.025 · Cited by 14
The Uptake of the Core Outcome Set for Non-Specific Low Back Pain Clinical Trials is Poor: A Meta-Epidemiological Study of Trial Registrations
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Completeness of reporting for COVID-19 case reports, January to April 2020: a meta-epidemiologic study
Scaffidi, M. A., Gimpaya, N., Li, J., Bansal, R., Verma, Y., Elsolh, K., Donn, G. M., Panjwani, A., Khan, R., & Grover, S. C. (2021) · CMAJ Open · doi:10.9778/cmajo.20200140 · Cited by 13
The transparency of reporting 'harms' encountered with the surgically assisted acceleration of orthodontic tooth movement in the published randomized controlled trials: a meta-epidemiological study
Alfailany, D. T., Hajeer, M. Y., & Darwich, K. M. A. (2023) · Progress in Orthodontics · doi:10.1186/s40510-023-00457-4 · Cited by 13
“Materials and methods This MES was constructed under ’Guidelines for reporting meta-epidemiological methodology research’ [23].”
Method
An assessment of transparency and reproducibility‐related research practices in otolaryngology
Johnson, A., Torgerson, T., Skinner, M., Hamilton, T., Tritz, D., & Vassar, M. B. (2019) · The Laryngoscope · doi:10.1002/lary.28322 · Cited by 14
“18 This study is reported according to the guidance developed by Murad and Wang 19 for meta-research studies and, when relevant, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).”
Method
Do authors of research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research comply with its open access mandate?: A meta-epidemiologic study
Scaffidi, M. A., Elsolh, K., Li, J., Verma, Y., Bansal, R., Gimpaya, N., Larivière, V., Khan, R., & Grover, S. C. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256577 · Cited by 13
“Reporting of our findings followed guidelines for the reporting of meta-epidemiological methodology research (see S1 Appendix) [7].”
Method

Authors: Murad, M. H., & Wang, Z.
Affiliations: Mayo Clinic (US)
Corresponding author: Murad, Mohammad Hassan
ORCID: Murad, Mohammad Hassan
Wang, Zhen
Venue: Evidence Based Medicine
Publisher: BMJ
Published: 2017-07-12
Volume: 22
Issue: 4
Pages: 139-142
ISSN: 1356-5524 (ISSN-L)
1473-6810
DOI: 10.1136/ebmed-2017-110713
PMC: PMC5537553
OpenAlex: W2735796955
Cited by: 515
References: 24
Citations by year: 2026: 61 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 103 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 2
FWCI: 18.58
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: cc-by-nc
Locations: BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Clinical practice guidelines implementation
Keywords: meta-epidemiology, reporting guidelines, PRISMA, study characteristics, research transparency, reproducibility, systematic reviews
MeSH terms: Systematic Reviews as Topic, Humans, Publishing, Quality Control, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Research Report

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