Many individuals and organisations outside the Collaboration have made significant contributions to the development of statistical aspects of systematic review methods in health care however, in this paper, we restrict our focus to contributions of the SMG and its members.Ī key publication pre-dating the founding of The Cochrane Collaboration was the two volume Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth, which included a long chapter on methods for synthesising evidence from multiple studies (now called systematic reviews), including methods of meta-analysis. In this article, we provide a historical account of the beginnings of the Statistical Methods Group (SMG) of The Cochrane Collaboration and its subsequent work, and reflect on the challenges that the group faces in the future. Accordingly, statistical methods have always been seen as critically important. Methodological rigour was a key principle of The Cochrane Collaboration from its inception two decades ago. Yet it is only about 30 years since these studies began to appear in medical journals. Systematic reviews, including statistical synthesis of the results of multiple studies, are now commonplace in medical research, notably through the work of The Cochrane Collaboration. Finally, we consider the importance of robust statistical methodology for Cochrane systematic reviews, note research gaps, and reflect on the challenges that the Statistical Methods Group faces in its future direction.Īlthough there are earlier examples of statistical combination of data from multiple studies, the practice began in earnest in the 1970s in the social sciences, and the term meta-analysis was coined by Glass as recently as 1976.
We discuss how the Group implements and disseminates statistical methods within The Cochrane Collaboration. We highlight some landmark methodological developments that Statistical Methods Group members have contributed to in the field of meta-analysis. In this paper, marking the 20 th anniversary of The Cochrane Collaboration, we reflect on the history of the Statistical Methods Group, beginning in 1993 with the identification of aspects of statistical synthesis for which consensus was lacking about the best approach. The contribution of Statistical Methods Group members to the meta-analysis literature has been extensive and has helped to shape the wider meta-analysis landscape. The Statistical Methods Group has determined the direction of statistical methods used within Cochrane reviews, developed guidance for these methods, provided training, and continued to discuss and consider new and controversial issues in meta-analysis. The Statistical Methods Group has played a pivotal role in The Cochrane Collaboration over the past 20 years.
0 kommentar(er)
