Cross-hairs: a scatterplot for meta-analysis in R

Res Synth Methods. 2017 Mar;8(1):53-63. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1220. Epub 2016 Aug 6.

Abstract

We describe a meta-analytic scatterplot that indicates precision of points for two variables paired within studies; this is equivalent in form to a 'cross-hairs' plot used to portray specificity and sensitivity in diagnostic testing. At the user's discretion, the plot also displays boxplots for each of the X and Y variable distributions, means for each of the variables, and the correlation between the two. The cross-hairs may be suppressed for dense point clouds. The program is written in R, so it can be modified by the user and can serve as a companion to existing meta-analysis programs. Some of the program's novel uses are described and illustrated with (1) independent effect sizes, (2) dependent effect sizes, and (3) shrunken estimates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: graph; plot; shrunken estimates; visualization.

MeSH terms

  • Bayes Theorem
  • Humans
  • Meta-Analysis as Topic*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Publication Bias
  • Regression Analysis
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Surgical Procedures, Operative / methods