Agenda » Learning objectives
Course learning objectives
Basic course
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the logic of a basic meta-analysis and teach them how to perform a meta-analysis, critique a meta-analysis, and avoid common mistakes in meta-analysis. By the end of the course students will understand
- The goals of a meta-analysis
- How to choose a statistical model
- How to choose an effect-size index
- How to enter data for a simple meta-analysis
- How to estimate the mean effect size
- How to quantify and understand heterogeneity in effects
- How to report the results of the analysis
- How to create forest plots
- How to create plots that show the distribution of true effects
- How to avoid common mistakes in all these areas
Advanced course
The objective of this course is to teach students advanced issues in meta-analysis. By the end of the course the student will understand
- How to use subgroup analyses to compare the impact of a treatment in sets of studies that enrolled different populations or employed different variants of an intervention (analogous to ANOVA in a primary study)
- How to use meta-regression to assess the unique impact of continuous or categorical covariates on the effect size (analogous to multiple-regression in a primary study)
- How to assess the potential impact of publication bias on the analysis
- What to do when there are only a small number of studies in the analysis
- How to avoid common mistakes in all these areas
Testimonials
"I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of Dr. Michael Borenstein's online workshop. He has a unique gift of taking seemingly complex material and explaining it so intuitively. I am already applying the principles that he discusses in his modules to my research during medical school and residency. I would enthusiastically recommend this workshop to anyone looking to understand the methods of meta-analysis as well as how to interpret meta-analyses in the context of a systematic review."
Moez Karim Aziz, MD, MS - Resident Physician, Baylor College of Medicine
"As a professor of statistics, I was unsure whether to take the initial online course in meta-analysis, thinking that it might either be too dense and jargon-filled to be interesting (given Dr. Borenstein’s impressive credentials and knowledge base) or too basic (given that I was already teaching a course). As I finish the series now, however, I am awestruck by the quality of this offering. Dr. Borenstein is quite simply a master teacher, so he offers complex material in a completely comprehensible form, the best of both worlds. I picked up details on the statistics, the use of CMA, and the theory behind the statistics, but I also (hopefully) will model the style and clarity of his teaching style in my own work in the future. I look forward to the intermediate and advanced sessions."
Constance J. Dalenberg, PhD - Alliant International University - Online Workshop