title: Assessing heterogeneity in meta-analysis: Q statistic or I2 index?
abstract: In meta-analysis, the usual way of assessing whether a set of single studies is homogeneous is by means of the Q test. However, the Q test only informs meta-analysts about the presence versus the absence of heterogeneity, but it does not report on the extent of such heterogeneity. Recently, the I(2) index has been proposed to quantify the degree of heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. In this article, the performances of the Q test and the confidence interval around the I(2) index are compared by means of a Monte Carlo simulation. The results show the utility of the I(2) index as a complement to the Q test, although it has the same problems of power with a small number of studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Psychology & Methodology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. hmtania@um.es
authors.forename: Tania B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Huedo-Medina
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Meca
authors.forename: Fulgencio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marín-Martínez
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Botella
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015982:Bias; D003198:Computer Simulation; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D015987:Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D009010:Monte Carlo Method