Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-08-09 Thread Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
Dear Angelo,

This is (currently) not possible.

Best,

--
Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


Original Message
From: Angelo Franchini [mailto:angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk]
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 13:09
To: Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
Cc: r-help@r-project.org
Subject: RE: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Dear Wolfgang,

 Is there any way for rma to add random effects only to each treatment
 arm, but not to the control one?

 Many thanks,
 Angelo


 On Thu, August 5, 2010 6:21 pm, Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT) wrote:
 Dear Angelo,

 rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

 is *a* way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis. Whether it is the
 *correct* way is a question I cannot answer.

 lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

 is a different model. First of all, it adds a random effect only to
 each treatment arm within each study, while the rma model above gives
 a random effect to each observation. Moreover, the lme model assumes
 that the sampling variances are only known up to a proportionality
 constant, while the rma model assumes that they are known exactly.

 Similarly,

 lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)

 assumes that the sampling variances are only known up to a
 proportionality constant, while rma (with method=FE) assumes that they
 are known exactly.

 For the same reason will

 rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)
 lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

 and

 rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
 lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

 not give you the same results.

 Best,

 --
 Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
 Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
 School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
 Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


 Original Message
 From: Angelo Franchini [mailto:angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk]
 Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 16:26
 To: Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
 Cc: 'Angelo Franchini'; r-help@r-project.org
 Subject: RE: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Hello Wolfgang.

 I'd appreciate if you could help me check whether I am doing the
 proper thing to do an arm-level meta-analysis with metafor and what
 differences there might be in trying to do the same with lme and lm.

 I am following the arm based model described in section 3.2 of the
 Salanti's paper that you mentioned in your previous e-mail, namely:

 theta = B*eta + X*mu + W*beta

 where:
 theta = vector of parameter for outcomes in treatment arms (theta_ij
 for study i, treat. arm j) eta= vector of parameter for outcomes in
 control arms (eta_i for study i) mu = vector of effects (treat. vs
 cont.) (mu_ij for study i, treat. arm j) beta   = vector of random
 effects (beta_ij for study i, treat. arm j)


 In my specific case with a pairwise meta-analysis, I had my data
 arranged as in columns for the following variables: s t o se

 with
 s as study/trial identifier
 t as 0/1 for control/treatment arm
 o as observed outcome in control or treatment arm
 se as standard error of that outcome measure

 I then ran metafor as:
 rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

 for random effects, and REML replaced by FE for fixed effects.

 Is that the correct way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis?

 Shouldn't I be able to obtain similar results with LME for
 random-effects by using the command: lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s,
 weights=(~ se^2))

 and for fixed-effects with:
 lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)


 For the trial-based pairwise meta-analysis I used:
 data arranged as:
 s e se

 with:
 s study
 e effect
 se standard error

 and commands:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)

 or

 lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

 for random-effects, while for fixed-effects:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
 lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

 Does that make sense?


 Many thanks for any comment/advice on this matter.
 Best regards,
 Angelo

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-08-08 Thread Angelo Franchini
Dear Wolfgang,

Is there any way for rma to add random effects only to each treatment arm,
but not to the control one?

Many thanks,
Angelo


On Thu, August 5, 2010 6:21 pm, Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT) wrote:
 Dear Angelo,

 rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

 is *a* way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis. Whether it is the
 *correct* way is a question I cannot answer.

 lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

 is a different model. First of all, it adds a random effect only to each
 treatment arm within each study, while the rma model above gives a random
 effect to each observation. Moreover, the lme model assumes that the
 sampling variances are only known up to a proportionality constant, while
 the rma model assumes that they are known exactly.

 Similarly,

 lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)

 assumes that the sampling variances are only known up to a proportionality
 constant, while rma (with method=FE) assumes that they are known
 exactly.

 For the same reason will

 rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)
 lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

 and

 rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
 lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

 not give you the same results.

 Best,

 --
 Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
 Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
 School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
 Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


 Original Message
 From: Angelo Franchini [mailto:angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk]
 Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 16:26
 To: Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
 Cc: 'Angelo Franchini'; r-help@r-project.org
 Subject: RE: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Hello Wolfgang.

 I'd appreciate if you could help me check whether I am doing the proper
 thing to do an arm-level meta-analysis with metafor and what differences
 there might be in trying to do the same with lme and lm.

 I am following the arm based model described in section 3.2 of the
 Salanti's paper that you mentioned in your previous e-mail, namely:

 theta = B*eta + X*mu + W*beta

 where:
 theta = vector of parameter for outcomes in treatment arms (theta_ij for
 study i, treat. arm j)
 eta= vector of parameter for outcomes in control arms (eta_i for
 study i)
 mu = vector of effects (treat. vs cont.) (mu_ij for study i, treat.
 arm j)
 beta   = vector of random effects (beta_ij for study i, treat. arm j)


 In my specific case with a pairwise meta-analysis, I had my data
 arranged
 as in columns for the following variables: s t o se

 with
 s as study/trial identifier
 t as 0/1 for control/treatment arm
 o as observed outcome in control or treatment arm
 se as standard error of that outcome measure

 I then ran metafor as:
 rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

 for random effects, and REML replaced by FE for fixed effects.

 Is that the correct way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis?

 Shouldn't I be able to obtain similar results with LME for
 random-effects
 by using the command: lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

 and for fixed-effects with:
 lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)


 For the trial-based pairwise meta-analysis I used:
 data arranged as:
 s e se

 with:
 s study
 e effect
 se standard error

 and commands:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)

 or

 lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

 for random-effects, while for fixed-effects:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
 lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

 Does that make sense?


 Many thanks for any comment/advice on this matter.
 Best regards,
 Angelo



-- 
NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
Department of Community Based Medicine
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA

Tel. 0779 265-6552

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-08-05 Thread Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
Dear Angelo,

rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

is *a* way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis. Whether it is the 
*correct* way is a question I cannot answer.

lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

is a different model. First of all, it adds a random effect only to each 
treatment arm within each study, while the rma model above gives a random 
effect to each observation. Moreover, the lme model assumes that the sampling 
variances are only known up to a proportionality constant, while the rma model 
assumes that they are known exactly.

Similarly,

lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)

assumes that the sampling variances are only known up to a proportionality 
constant, while rma (with method=FE) assumes that they are known exactly.

For the same reason will

rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)
lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

and

rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

not give you the same results.

Best,

--
Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


Original Message
From: Angelo Franchini [mailto:angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 16:26
To: Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
Cc: 'Angelo Franchini'; r-help@r-project.org
Subject: RE: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Hello Wolfgang.

 I'd appreciate if you could help me check whether I am doing the proper
 thing to do an arm-level meta-analysis with metafor and what differences
 there might be in trying to do the same with lme and lm.

 I am following the arm based model described in section 3.2 of the
 Salanti's paper that you mentioned in your previous e-mail, namely:

 theta = B*eta + X*mu + W*beta

 where:
 theta = vector of parameter for outcomes in treatment arms (theta_ij for
 study i, treat. arm j)
 eta= vector of parameter for outcomes in control arms (eta_i for
 study i)
 mu = vector of effects (treat. vs cont.) (mu_ij for study i, treat.
 arm j)
 beta   = vector of random effects (beta_ij for study i, treat. arm j)


 In my specific case with a pairwise meta-analysis, I had my data arranged
 as in columns for the following variables: s t o se

 with
 s as study/trial identifier
 t as 0/1 for control/treatment arm
 o as observed outcome in control or treatment arm
 se as standard error of that outcome measure

 I then ran metafor as:
 rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

 for random effects, and REML replaced by FE for fixed effects.

 Is that the correct way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis?

 Shouldn't I be able to obtain similar results with LME for random-effects
 by using the command: lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

 and for fixed-effects with:
 lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)


 For the trial-based pairwise meta-analysis I used:
 data arranged as:
 s e se

 with:
 s study
 e effect
 se standard error

 and commands:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)

 or

 lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

 for random-effects, while for fixed-effects:
 rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
 lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

 Does that make sense?


 Many thanks for any comment/advice on this matter.
 Best regards,
 Angelo

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-08-04 Thread Angelo Franchini
Hello Wolfgang.

I'd appreciate if you could help me check whether I am doing the proper
thing to do an arm-level meta-analysis with metafor and what differences
there might be in trying to do the same with lme and lm.

I am following the arm based model described in section 3.2 of the
Salanti's paper that you mentioned in your previous e-mail, namely:

theta = B*eta + X*mu + W*beta

where:
theta = vector of parameter for outcomes in treatment arms (theta_ij for
study i, treat. arm j)
eta= vector of parameter for outcomes in control arms (eta_i for study i)
mu = vector of effects (treat. vs cont.) (mu_ij for study i, treat.
arm j)
beta   = vector of random effects (beta_ij for study i, treat. arm j)


In my specific case with a pairwise meta-analysis, I had my data arranged
as in columns for the following variables:
s t o se

with
s as study/trial identifier
t as 0/1 for control/treatment arm
o as observed outcome in control or treatment arm
se as standard error of that outcome measure

I then ran metafor as:
rma(yi=o, sei=se, mods=~s+t-1, method=REML)

for random effects, and REML replaced by FE for fixed effects.

Is that the correct way to run the arm-based pairwise meta-analysis?

Shouldn't I be able to obtain similar results with LME for random-effects
by using the command:
lme(o~s+t-1, random=~t-1 | s, weights=(~ se^2))

and for fixed-effects with:
lm(formula = o ~ s + t - 1, weights = 1/se.o^2)


For the trial-based pairwise meta-analysis I used:
data arranged as:
s e se

with:
s study
e effect
se standard error

and commands:
rma(yi=e, sei=se, method=REML)

or

lme(e~1, random=~1 | s, weights=(~ se.e^2))

for random-effects, while for fixed-effects:
rma(yi=e, sei=se.e, method=FE)
lm(e~1, weights = 1/se.e^2)

Does that make sense?


Many thanks for any comment/advice on this matter.
Best regards,
Angelo



On Fri, July 9, 2010 11:55 am, Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT) wrote:
 With appropriate design matrix, I mean the X matrix in the
mixed-effects
 model y = Xb + u + e, where y is the vector of outcomes, u is a vector
of
 (possibly correlated) random effects, and e is a vector of (possibly)
random errors. The X matrix is specified via the 'mods' argument in the
rma() function. If y consists of arm-level outcomes, then you need
appropriate dummy variables in X to code what type of arm the outcome
corresponds to.

 Have you read, for example:

 Salanti, G., Higgins, J. P. T., Ades, A. E.,  Ioannidis, J. P. A.
(2008).
 Evaluation of networks of randomized trials. Statistical Methods in
Medical Research, 17(3), 279-301.

 This article may be helpful.

 Best,

 --
 Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
 Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


 Original Message
 From: r-help-boun...@r-project.org
 [mailto:r-help-boun...@r-project.org] On Behalf Of Angelo Franchini
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 10:37 To: Wolfgang Viechtbauer
 Cc: r-help@r-project.org; Angelo Franchini
 Subject: Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Hello Wolfgang,
 Thank you very much for your response.
 When you mentionthe appropriate design matrix, do you mean by that
the 'n1i, n2i, m1i, m2i, sd1i, sd2i' arguments of the rma function, or
am I missing something? I read the documentation on metafor
 (introduction), rma/rma.uni and escalc, and that was the only way that
I could find for the package to use information at the arm-level rather
than the trial one.
 As for the complexity of possible correlations between effects, that is
something to be considered for the network analysis case, correct? Many
thanks.
 Best regards,
 Angelo
 On Sun, July 4, 2010 6:06 am, Wolfgang Viechtbauer wrote:
 Hello Angelo,
 You can either supply the arm-level outcomes and corresponding
sampling variances directly (via the yi and vi arguments) or supply
the necessary information so that the escalc() or rma() functions can
calculate an appropriate arm-level outcome (such as the log odds). See
the documentation of the escalc() function and in particular the part
about proportions and tranaformations thereof as possible outcome
measures.
 This is the easy part. Then you need to set up an appropriate design
matrix to code what arm each observed outcome corresponds to. And
finally comes the tricky/problematic part. The rma() function assumes
independent sampling errors and independent random effects for each
observed outcome. Independent sampling errors is (usually) ok when
using arm-level outcomes, but the independent random errors part may
not be appropriate. This is why I am working on functions that do not
make this independence assumption. With those functions, you can then
carry out multivariate and network-type meta-analyses. These
 functions will become part of the metafor

Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-07-09 Thread Viechtbauer Wolfgang (STAT)
With appropriate design matrix, I mean the X matrix in the mixed-effects 
model y = Xb + u + e, where y is the vector of outcomes, u is a vector of 
(possibly correlated) random effects, and e is a vector of (possibly) random 
errors. The X matrix is specified via the 'mods' argument in the rma() 
function. If y consists of arm-level outcomes, then you need appropriate dummy 
variables in X to code what type of arm the outcome corresponds to.

Have you read, for example:

Salanti, G., Higgins, J. P. T., Ades, A. E.,  Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2008). 
Evaluation of networks of randomized trials. Statistical Methods in Medical 
Research, 17(3), 279-301.

This article may be helpful.

Best,

--
Wolfgang Viechtbauerhttp://www.wvbauer.com/
Department of Methodology and StatisticsTel: +31 (0)43 388-2277
School for Public Health and Primary Care   Office Location:
Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616 Room B2.01 (second floor)
6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands Debyeplein 1 (Randwyck)


Original Message
From: r-help-boun...@r-project.org
[mailto:r-help-boun...@r-project.org] On Behalf Of Angelo Franchini
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 10:37 To: Wolfgang Viechtbauer
Cc: r-help@r-project.org; Angelo Franchini
Subject: Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

 Hello Wolfgang,

 Thank you very much for your response.
 When you mentionthe appropriate design matrix, do you mean by that
 the 'n1i, n2i, m1i, m2i, sd1i, sd2i' arguments of the rma function,
 or am I missing something? I read the documentation on metafor
 (introduction), rma/rma.uni and escalc, and that was the only way
 that I could find for the package to use information at the arm-level
 rather than the trial one.

 As for the complexity of possible correlations between effects, that
 is something to be considered for the network analysis case, correct?

 Many thanks.

 Best regards,
 Angelo



 On Sun, July 4, 2010 6:06 am, Wolfgang Viechtbauer wrote:
 Hello Angelo,

 You can either supply the arm-level outcomes and corresponding
 sampling variances directly (via the yi and vi arguments) or supply
 the necessary information so that the escalc() or rma() functions can
 calculate an appropriate arm-level outcome (such as the log odds).
 See the documentation of the escalc() function and in particular the
 part about proportions and tranaformations thereof as possible
 outcome measures.

 This is the easy part. Then you need to set up an appropriate design
 matrix to code what arm each observed outcome corresponds to. And
 finally comes the tricky/problematic part. The rma() function assumes
 independent sampling errors and independent random effects for each
 observed outcome. Independent sampling errors is (usually) ok when
 using arm-level outcomes, but the independent random errors part may
 not be appropriate. This is why I am working on functions that do not
 make this independence assumption. With those functions, you can then
 carry out multivariate and network-type meta-analyses. These
 functions will become part of the metafor package in the future.

 Best,

 --
 Wolfgang Viechtbauer
 http://www.wvbauer.com

 Angelo Franchini angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk wrote:

 Hi,

 I have been looking for an R package which allowed to do
 meta-analysis (both pairwise and network/mixed-treatment) at
 arm-level rather than at trial-level, the latter being the common
 way in which meta-analysis is done. By arm-level meta-analysis I
 mean one that accounts for data provided at the level of the
 individual arms of each trial and that does not simply derive the
 difference between arms and do the meta-analysis on that.

 I am not sure metafor can do that, but hopefully someone more
 experienced on it can clarify that to me. I can see that it can take
 data in both forms, arm and trial level, but it looks as if the
 arm-level information would be converted into trial one through
 escalc and the latter then used for the meta-analysis. Is that
 right?

 Many thanks.

 Angelo


 --
 NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
 Department of Community Based Medicine
 University of Bristol
 25 Belgrave Road
 Bristol BS8 2AA

 Tel. 0779 265-6552

 __
 R-help@r-project.org mailing list
 https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
 PLEASE do read the posting guide
 http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
 and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-07-06 Thread Angelo Franchini
Hello Wolfgang,

Thank you very much for your response.
When you mentionthe appropriate design matrix, do you mean by that the
'n1i, n2i, m1i, m2i, sd1i, sd2i' arguments of the rma function, or am I
missing something?
I read the documentation on metafor (introduction), rma/rma.uni and
escalc, and that was the only way that I could find for the package to use
information at the arm-level rather than the trial one.

As for the complexity of possible correlations between effects, that is
something to be considered for the network analysis case, correct?

Many thanks.

Best regards,
Angelo



On Sun, July 4, 2010 6:06 am, Wolfgang Viechtbauer wrote:
 Hello Angelo,

 You can either supply the arm-level outcomes and corresponding sampling
 variances directly (via the yi and vi arguments) or supply the necessary
 information so that the escalc() or rma() functions can calculate an
 appropriate arm-level outcome (such as the log odds). See the
 documentation of the escalc() function and in particular the part about
 proportions and tranaformations thereof as possible outcome measures.

 This is the easy part. Then you need to set up an appropriate design
 matrix to code what arm each observed outcome corresponds to. And finally
 comes the tricky/problematic part. The rma() function assumes independent
 sampling errors and independent random effects for each observed outcome.
 Independent sampling errors is (usually) ok when using arm-level outcomes,
 but the independent random errors part may not be appropriate. This is why
 I am working on functions that do not make this independence assumption.
 With those functions, you can then carry out multivariate and network-type
 meta-analyses. These functions will become part of the metafor package in
 the future.

 Best,

 --
 Wolfgang Viechtbauer
 http://www.wvbauer.com

 Angelo Franchini angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk wrote:

Hi,

I have been looking for an R package which allowed to do meta-analysis
(both pairwise and network/mixed-treatment) at arm-level rather than at
trial-level, the latter being the common way in which meta-analysis is
done.
By arm-level meta-analysis I mean one that accounts for data provided at
the level of the individual arms of each trial and that does not simply
derive the difference between arms and do the meta-analysis on that.

I am not sure metafor can do that, but hopefully someone more experienced
on it can clarify that to me. I can see that it can take data in both
forms, arm and trial level, but it looks as if the arm-level information
would be converted into trial one through escalc and the latter then used
for the meta-analysis. Is that right?

Many thanks.

Angelo


--
NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
Department of Community Based Medicine
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA

Tel. 0779 265-6552

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide
 http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.




-- 
NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
Department of Community Based Medicine
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA

Tel. 0779 265-6552

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


Re: [R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-07-04 Thread Wolfgang Viechtbauer
Hello Angelo,

You can either supply the arm-level outcomes and corresponding sampling 
variances directly (via the yi and vi arguments) or supply the necessary 
information so that the escalc() or rma() functions can calculate an 
appropriate arm-level outcome (such as the log odds). See the documentation of 
the escalc() function and in particular the part about proportions and 
tranaformations thereof as possible outcome measures.

This is the easy part. Then you need to set up an appropriate design matrix to 
code what arm each observed outcome corresponds to. And finally comes the 
tricky/problematic part. The rma() function assumes independent sampling errors 
and independent random effects for each observed outcome. Independent sampling 
errors is (usually) ok when using arm-level outcomes, but the independent 
random errors part may not be appropriate. This is why I am working on 
functions that do not make this independence assumption. With those functions, 
you can then carry out multivariate and network-type meta-analyses. These 
functions will become part of the metafor package in the future.

Best,

-- 
Wolfgang Viechtbauer
http://www.wvbauer.com

Angelo Franchini angelo.franch...@bristol.ac.uk wrote:

Hi,

I have been looking for an R package which allowed to do meta-analysis
(both pairwise and network/mixed-treatment) at arm-level rather than at
trial-level, the latter being the common way in which meta-analysis is
done.
By arm-level meta-analysis I mean one that accounts for data provided at
the level of the individual arms of each trial and that does not simply
derive the difference between arms and do the meta-analysis on that.

I am not sure metafor can do that, but hopefully someone more experienced
on it can clarify that to me. I can see that it can take data in both
forms, arm and trial level, but it looks as if the arm-level information
would be converted into trial one through escalc and the latter then used
for the meta-analysis. Is that right?

Many thanks.

Angelo


--
NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
Department of Community Based Medicine
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA

Tel. 0779 265-6552

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[R] metafor and meta-analysis at arm-level

2010-07-02 Thread Angelo Franchini
Hi,

I have been looking for an R package which allowed to do meta-analysis
(both pairwise and network/mixed-treatment) at arm-level rather than at
trial-level, the latter being the common way in which meta-analysis is
done.
By arm-level meta-analysis I mean one that accounts for data provided at
the level of the individual arms of each trial and that does not simply
derive the difference between arms and do the meta-analysis on that.

I am not sure metafor can do that, but hopefully someone more experienced
on it can clarify that to me. I can see that it can take data in both
forms, arm and trial level, but it looks as if the arm-level information
would be converted into trial one through escalc and the latter then used
for the meta-analysis. Is that right?

Many thanks.

Angelo


--
NIHR Research Methods Training Fellow,
Department of Community Based Medicine
University of Bristol
25 Belgrave Road
Bristol BS8 2AA

Tel. 0779 265-6552

__
R-help@r-project.org mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.