Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 30, 2025

Author Spotlight: Evaluating the Adjuvant Efficacy and Safety of Angong Niuhuang Pill in Viral Encephalitis Treatment
Published on: April 19, 2024
A Note on Cherry-Picking in Meta-Analyses
Daisuke Yoneoka1, Bastian Rieck2
1Center for Surveillance, Immunization, and Epidemiologic Research, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
Abstract:
We study selection bias in meta-analyses by assuming the presence of researchers (meta-analysts) who intentionally or unintentionally cherry-pick a subset of studies by defining arbitrary inclusion and/or exclusion criteria that will lead to their desired results. When the number of studies is sufficiently large, we theoretically show that a meta-analysts might falsely obtain (non)significant overall treatment effects, regardless of the actual effectiveness of a treatment. We analyze all theoretical findings based on extensive simulation experiments and practical clinical examples. Numerical evaluations demonstrate that the standard method for meta-analyses has the potential to be cherry-picked.
More Related Videos
06:26Meta-analysis of Voxel-Based Neuroimaging Studies using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images SDM-PSI
Published on: November 27, 2019
04:34Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness and Safety of Shugan Jieyu Capsules for the Treatment of Insomnia
Published on: February 17, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Chi-square Analysis
The chi-square test was developed by Pearson in 1990.
The first step of performing a Chi-square analysis is to establish a null hypothesis, which assumes that there is no real...
Regression Toward the Mean
Confounding in Epidemiological Studies
Dose-Response Relationship: Selectivity and Specificity
Bias
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...