A pooled analysis is a
statistical
Statistics (from German: ''Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industria ...
technique for combining the results of multiple
epidemiological studies. It is one of three types of
literature reviews frequently used in epidemiology, along with
meta-analysis and traditional
narrative reviews. Pooled analyses may be either retrospective or prospective. It is often used when the results of individual studies do not allow for a firm conclusion to be drawn. Unlike meta-analyses, pooled analyses can only be conducted if the included studies used the same study design and statistical models, and if their respective populations were homogeneous. If individual-level data from the included studies is available, the result of a pooled analysis can be considered more reliable.
References
Epidemiology
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Research methods
Clinical research
Statistical analysis