©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. Aug 26, 2015; 3(4): 188-192
Published online Aug 26, 2015. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v3.i4.188
Published online Aug 26, 2015. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v3.i4.188
Application of meta-analysis to specific research fields: Lessons learned
Lynne V McFarland, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98108-1597, United States
Lynne V McFarland, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle, WA 98108-1597, United States
Author contributions: McFarland LV contributed solely to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work, not other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
Correspondence to: Lynne V McFarland, PhD, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108-1597, United States. lynne.mcfarland@va.gov
Telephone: +1-206-2771780 Fax: +1-206-7642935
Received: May 5, 2015
Peer-review started: May 7, 2015
First decision: June 3, 2015
Revised: June 15, 2015
Accepted: July 7, 2015
Article in press: July 9, 2015
Published online: August 26, 2015
Processing time: 132 Days and 4.2 Hours
Peer-review started: May 7, 2015
First decision: June 3, 2015
Revised: June 15, 2015
Accepted: July 7, 2015
Article in press: July 9, 2015
Published online: August 26, 2015
Processing time: 132 Days and 4.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: As meta-analyses are used more frequently and their findings reach a wider scope of people, it is the responsibility of researchers to use current guidelines and appropriately apply their findings to form valid conclusions. As researchers gain experience with this technique, we need to recognize that our methods may change over time. Meta-analysis remains a valuable tool for examining controversies arising from conflicting studies.