Back to: Analyze & Synthesize Data

The number you calculated using your meta-analysis is a more precise, numerical addition to the story that those individual studies are already telling.

You display your estimate of the overall average effect at the bottom of the forest plot, in the shape of a diamond.

The location of the diamond tells you which drug is more effective (and by how much). The width of the diamond indicates your level of certainty about that number. It’s basically your confidence interval – a wider diamond shows more uncertainty and a narrower diamond shows more certainty.

Now you have your answer and a visual representation of how that answer relates to all of your studies!

But before you go rushing to report your findings, take a deep breath.