Meta-Analysis in Psychiatry Research

Mallikarjun B. Hanji, PhD, a Chief Technical Officer at the Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Bangalore, India, and has over 25 years of research, teaching, and extension experience. He has published several scientific papers, including an introductory paper on meta-analysis for mental health care research followed by pattern of prevalence of mental retardation and affective disorders in India. His main contribution is the identification of suitable methods for estimation of pattern and prevalence for schizophrenia and epilepsy in India. He received his MSc in agricultural statistics from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore; an MBA from Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi; and a PhD in biostatistics (topic: meta-analytical approach to estimate pattern of prevalence of schizophrenia and epilepsy in India) from the Department of Biostatistics, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India.

Introduction. Protocol Writing for Meta-Analysis Study. Formulation of Research Problem. Location Selection of Studies. Quality Assessment of Selected Studies. Effect Sizes of Primary Studies. Preparation of Meta-Analysis Master Sheet. Meta-Analysis Plots. Meta-Analysis of Two Studies. Methods for Pooling Estimates: Fixed Effects Model. Method for Pooling Estimates: Random Effects Model. Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Additional Meta-Analysis Techniques. Reporting Meta-Analysis Results. Implications of Results of Meta-Analysis. Meta-Analysis Software. Running Meta-Analysis Using STATA.