GLOSSARY

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There are currently 3 entries in this directory beginning with the letter M.
M
Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre (MHBRC)
This refers to the Mental Health branch of the Biomedical Research Centre (MH-BRC – see BRC). The focus of this unit is on individualised treatments for those with mental ill health.
Meta-analysis
A meta-analysis involves a researcher bringing together the numerical results of all previous research (usually randomised trials) about one particular treatment or plan.

A meta-analysis can be important because it allows us to pick up small differences between treatments. These differences can be very hard to spot, so trials need to include large numbers of participants to pick these up. Many trials are not big enough, so we cannot be sure whether any differences that we find are because of real differences between the treatments or just due to chance. By bringing together the results of all trials of a particular treatment in a meta-analysis, we can look at the experience of more participants than in a single trial. This gives a more reliable and accurate measurement of the effect of the treatment and the best way of seeing which treatments are best.
Methodological Research
Methodological research in relation to clinical trials is research looking at ways to improve the how trials are designed, carried out, conducted, analysed, interpreted and reported.