Description:

This Master Prompt would focus on meta-analytic research questions that cannot be adequately addressed using ordinary pairwise pooling alone. It would guide researchers in selecting and implementing specialized approaches according to the structure of the evidence.

Major pathways would include diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis using sensitivity, specificity and hierarchical models; dose-response meta-analysis for exposure-response relationships; individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis for participant-level modeling and effect-modifier investigation; and meta-analytic structural equation modelling (MASEM) for synthesizing correlation structures and testing theoretical relationships.

These approaches are directly represented in the uploaded collection: diagnostic studies pool sensitivity and specificity using hierarchical models; other studies employ dose-response synthesis, patient-level meta-analysis and MASEM.