Meta-Analysis, Decision Analysis, and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Methods for Quantitative Synthesis in Medicine

Rating:
Summary: clearest yet description this topic
Review: In a forest of mirky and arcane descriptions of a field that has come to dominate medical research and policy making, this book stands out for its clarity. Dr. Petitti speaks a language that normal people can understand. She avoids jargon and frequently uses quantitative examples that make it easy to plug in your own problems and directly apply her lessons to your tasks. This is easily the best book in print on this topic

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introductory text
Review: Meta-analysis, as both an applied and theoretical science, continues to develop from its rather humble beginnings. Since most physicians lack a strong background in quantitative science, rigorous statistical approaches to clinical decision making have been slow to gain widespread support. Despite its limitations, meta-analysis is proving to be an important vehicle for making sense of the increasingly overwhelming amount of published data in the biomedical sciences. Petitti's book goes a long way in demystifying meta-analysis for the rank and file and also serves as an excellent introduction to the field for the more statistically literate.

Most of my own work is in meta-analysis and I bought the book exclusively for this content and not information on decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. I do not mean to minimize the importance of the latter but rather point out my own narrow interest in the Petitti text.

The book is well written and concise. Petitti "cuts to the chase" explaining the theory underlying meta-analytic methods and provides many useful examples from the medical literature. The text is easy to follow, understandable and well balanced. A thorough reading should leave the reader well prepared for further exploration of applied meta-analysis as well as capable of articulating its strengths, weaknesses and future direction.

Overall, Petitti's text is an excellent place to start for those interested in learning the fundamentals of "research synthesis". The book is also an extremely handy references for the more experienced practitioner. I highly recommend it.