Scientific Methods: Meta-Analysis

Ph.D. -course

Course description

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

The candidate should have knowledge about:

  • what defines meta-analysis and its pros and cons
  • variance and precision of effects sizes
  • methods for coding of study quality
  • effect size heterogeneity
  • different biases in meta-analysis
  • sensitivity analysis
  • typical errors in meta-analysis and how to avoid them

Skills:
The candidate should be able to

  • conduct systematic literature searches
  • calculate effects sizes based on a wide range of effect types
  • conduct fixed effects and random effects meta-analyses
  • measure effect size heterogeneity
  • correct for/control for biases
  • perform moderator and meta-regression analyses
  • accurately and systematically report meta-analytic data

General competence:
The candidate should:

possess knowledge about meta-analytic procedures, be able to critical evaluate meta-analyses and to conduct meta-analyses and report meta-analytic data

Study period

Autumn

Credits (ECTS)

2 ects

Course location

Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen
Language of instruction
English
Course registration and deadlines
Students need to sign up two weeks in advance at studentweb.
Pre-requirements

None

Recommended Previous Knowledge
Basic statistical knowledge
Compulsory Requirements
2 x 8 hours lectures + preparation 12 hours. The candidates are required to submit a paper including meta-analysis of at least five studies within their own research field (e.g based on prevalences, correlations/associations, group differences / treatment/interventions).
Form of assessment

For this course several evaluation forms are been used:

  • Presence
  • Mandatory paper
Who may participate
Open for candidates at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen. Candidates from other faculties or from other universities/colleges may be granted admission upon request.
Supplementary course information

Objectives

The course provides a basic introduction to meta-analysis as a tool for research synthesis.

The aims are to give the candidates both a theoretical and practical introduction to meta-analysis; to equip the candidates with skill necessary to conduct meta-analyses and report results from meta-analyses.

Content

The course contains themes such as:

  • systematic literature search
  • extraction of data for meta-analysis

running fixed and random effect size meta-analyses

Academic responsible
Faculty of Psychology
Reading list
Reading list will be distributed prior to course start.