In this Book
- Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: Princeton University Press
Meta-analysis is a powerful statistical methodology for synthesizing research evidence across independent studies. This is the first comprehensive handbook of meta-analysis written specifically for ecologists and evolutionary biologists, and it provides an invaluable introduction for beginners as well as an up-to-date guide for experienced meta-analysts.
The chapters, written by renowned experts, walk readers through every step of meta-analysis, from problem formulation to the presentation of the results. The handbook identifies both the advantages of using meta-analysis for research synthesis and the potential pitfalls and limitations of meta-analysis (including when it should not be used). Different approaches to carrying out a meta-analysis are described, and include moment and least-square, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian approaches, all illustrated using worked examples based on real biological datasets. This one-of-a-kind resource is uniquely tailored to the biological sciences, and will provide an invaluable text for practitioners from graduate students and senior scientists to policymakers in conservation and environmental management.
- Walks you through every step of carrying out a meta-analysis in ecology and evolutionary biology, from problem formulation to result presentation
- Brings together experts from a broad range of fields
- Shows how to avoid, minimize, or resolve pitfalls such as missing data, publication bias, varying data quality, nonindependence of observations, and phylogenetic dependencies among species
- Helps you choose the right software
- Draws on numerous examples based on real biological datasets
Table of Contents
- Section I: Introduction and Planning
- Section II: Initiating a Meta-analysis
- Section III: Essential Analytic Models and Methods
- 11. Bayesian Meta-analysis
- pp. 145-173
- 12. Software for Statistical Meta-analysis
- pp. 174-192
- Section IV: Statistical Issues and Problems
- 14. Publication and Related Biases
- pp. 207-236
- 18. Meta-analysis of Primary Data
- pp. 300-312
- Section V: Presentation and Interpretation of Results
- 20. Quality Standards for Research Syntheses
- pp. 323-338
- 21. Graphical Presentation of Results
- pp. 339-347
- Section VI: Contributions of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
- 25. History and Progress of Meta-analysis
- pp. 407-419
- Frequently Asked Questions
- pp. 441-446
- References
- pp. 447-486
- List of Contributors
- pp. 487-488
- Subject Index
- pp. 489-498