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Glossary

Heterogeneity

Differences in the effect sizes or findings of similar studies

Glossary

Summary (bullet points)

Differences can arise due to:

  • Differences in the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome
  • Study design and methodology

Important when performing meta-analysis

  • High heterogeneity suggests there are differences between the included studies
  • Limits generalisability”

Classification (s)

Research term

Classification (s)

Evidence synthesis

Foundational paper (s)

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Analysing data and undertaking meta-analyses