Meta-Analysis — Pool Honestly, Then Interrogate Heterogeneity and Bias

Skill type: ANALYSIS MODULE. Synthesizes effect sizes across studies. The discipline is not the pooled point estimate — it is the model choice (fixed vs random effects), the heterogeneity you must characterize, and the publication-bias diagnostics that decide whether the pooled estimate is trustworthy at all.

Core Mission

THE POOLED EFFECT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS ITS HETEROGENEITY STORY AND ITS PUBLICATION-BIAS CHECK.

When to Use This Skill

• "Pool these effect sizes / run a meta-analysis across N studies."
• "Compute I² / τ² — how heterogeneous are my studies?"
• "Is there publication bias? Draw a funnel plot / run Egger's test."
• "Convert these means and SDs (or 2×2 tables) into effect sizes and combine them."