Editorial
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. May 26, 2013; 1(1): 1-4
Published online May 26, 2013. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v1.i1.1
What is the purpose of launching World Journal of Meta-Analysis?
Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Lesley A Anderson
Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, 04100 Latina, Italy
Lesley A Anderson, Centre for Public Health, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, BT7 1NN Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Biondi-Zoccai G and Anderson LA equally contributed to this manuscript.
Correspondence to: Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai, MD, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Corso della Repubblica 79, 04100 Latina Italy. giuseppe.biondizoccai@uniroma1.it
Telephone: +39-340-8626829 Fax: +39-18-4502244
Received: March 17, 2013
Revised: April 16, 2013
Accepted: May 7, 2013
Published online: May 26, 2013
Processing time: 106 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract

The exponential growth of scientific evidence (i.e., primary research) and the ongoing development of methods to summarize such evidence, such as meta-analyses and mixed treatment comparisons (i.e., secondary research), make the worldwide dissemination of high-quality meta-analyses and pertinent articles a key scientific priority. The World Journal of Meta-Analysis will apply an electronic open access publishing approach combined with a timely and thorough peer-review of submitted manuscripts, weighing more on quality than priority, in order to improve the dissemination of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as novelties and advancements in methods related to them, focusing on clinical medicine, but spanning all biomedical, epidemiological, and psychological research fields.

Keywords: Evidence-based medicine; Meta-analysis; Meta-regression; Review; Systematic review

Core tip: The exponential growth of scientific evidence and the ongoing development of meta-analyses make the worldwide dissemination of the latter study type a key scientific priority. The World Journal of Meta-Analysis will apply an electronic open access publishing approach, in order to improve the dissemination of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, focusing on clinical medicine, but spanning all biomedical, epidemiological, and psychological research fields.