American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) Practice Exam 2026 – All-in-One Resource to Master Your Orthodontics Certification!

A meta-analysis is best defined as a review that utilizes statistical methods to summarize and synthesize the results from multiple studies. This approach allows researchers to integrate findings from various pieces of research, providing a more comprehensive understanding of a particular question or clinical issue. By statistically analyzing the combined data, a meta-analysis can identify trends, differences, and overall effects that may not be apparent in individual studies.

The importance of this method lies in its ability to enhance the power of research conclusions. By pooling data, a meta-analysis can clarify conflicting results among individual studies and increase the reliability of findings. The rigor of statistical analysis also aids in evaluating the effect size and the consistency of outcomes across different populations or interventions, making the conclusions drawn from a meta-analysis more robust than those from a single study.