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. 1992 Jul;80(3):219–222.

Meta-analysis: a tool for medical and scientific discoveries.

C L Schell 1, R J Rathe 1
PMCID: PMC225660  PMID: 1525615

Abstract

Medicine has made increasing use of meta-analysis, largely as a quantitative procedure for combining results of clinical trials. Meta-analysis begins with a comprehensive review of the literature. The next step is a systematic analysis of the quality and content of each study. Finally, results are combined statistically and conclusions are drawn from this new overview of the data. This paper presents a brief historical perspective on the use of meta-analysis in medicine with emphasis on the medical library. The authors conclude that in the future, medical librarians will play a significant role in the application of this useful technique.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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