27 Mar 2024 Research synthesis is older than you think. Some early pioneers of meta-analysis
This live webinar has already taken place. Scroll down to view the video recording.
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In this webinar, Prof. Stephen Senn gave an overview of the history of research synthesis from its roots in the 18th century and early 19th century in the science of astronomy to its subsequent application to agriculture and later in medicine in the 20th century, highlighting the contributions of some early pioneers, speculating why we overlook the origins of meta-analysis, and concluding with a call for greater interdisciplinary awareness that would be valuable to mankind.
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TITLE: Research synthesis is older than you think. Some early pioneers of meta-analysis
WHEN: Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 at 12:00 noon PDT [convert to your local time]
WHERE: free online webinar.
SPEAKER: Prof. Stephen Senn, PhD, FRSE, CStat, Consultant Statistician, Edinburgh, UK.
About the topic: The term “meta-analysis” first appeared in 1976 in a paper by G.E. Glass, but its roots go back to the combination of observations in astronomy in the late 18th and early 19th century, it was then used in agriculture and since the 20th century has been increasingly used in medicine. In this webinar, Dr. Stephen Senn gave an overview of the history of research synthesis highlighting the contributions of some early pioneers: Gauss, Legendre, Laplace in astronomy; Student, Wood and Stratton, Fisher, and then Yates and Cochran in agriculture; and then in medicine from Karl Pearson’s 1904 analysis of studies in inoculation for enteric fever to the founding of the Cochrane Collaboration in 1993 and the increasing use of network meta-analysis in health technology assessment in the 21st century. Prof. Senn ended with a speculation on why we overlook the origins of meta-analysis, drawing lessons from the history of combining observations that show that there was a forgetting between disciplines but also within, and concluded with a call for greater interdisciplinary awareness that would be valuable to mankind. Prof. Senn also answered several questions from the participants.
About the speaker: Prof. Stephen Senn has worked as a statistician but also as an academic in various positions in Switzerland, Scotland, England and Luxembourg. From 2011-2018 he was head of the Competence Center for Methodology and Statistics at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. He is the author of Cross-over Trials in Clinical Research (1993, 2002), Statistical Issues in Drug Development (1997, 2007, 2021), Dicing with Death (2003). In 2009 was awarded the Bradford Hill Medal of the Royal Statistical Society. In 2017 he gave the Fisher Memorial Lecture. He is an honorary life member of PSI and ISCB. Prof. Senn is returning to the TI Methods Speaker Series, having presented a popular webinar in September 2021: What is your question? Causal and predictive purposes of clinical trials and the implications for analysis [view video recording] Twitter/X: @stephensenn
About the TI Methods Speaker Series: The TI Methods Speaker Series are offered free of charge and everyone is welcome. The event is usually held at noon on the last Wednesday of each month via Zoom videoconference. The presentations are recorded and the video recordings are posted online. Click here to view the list of talks offered in 2024.
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