Journal
RESEARCH SYNTHESIS METHODS
Volume 11, Issue 5, Pages 714-719Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/jrsm.1427
Keywords
sign test; narrative synthesis; binomial distribution; Poisson-binomial distribution
Funding
- Athens University of Economics and Business [DRASI II 2020]
- H2020 Health [754936]
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In narrative synthesis of evidence, it can be the case that the only quantitative measures available concerning the efficacy of an intervention is the direction of the effect, that is, whether it is positive or negative. In such situations, the sign test has been proposed in the literature and in recent Cochrane guidelines as a way to test whether the proportion of positive effects is favorable. I argue that the sign test is inappropriate in this context as the data are not generated according to the binomial distribution it employs. I demonstrate possible consequences for both hypothesis testing and estimation via hypothetical examples.
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