A practical introduction to multivariate meta-analysis

Abstract

Multivariate meta-analysis is becoming increasingly popular and official routines or self-programmed functions have been included in many statistical software. In this article, we review the statistical methods and the related software for multivariate meta-analysis. Emphasis is placed on Bayesian methods using Markov chain Monte Carlo, and codes in WinBUGS are provided. The various model-fitting options are illustrated in two examples and specific guidance is provided on how to run a multivariate meta-analysis using various software packages.