The trace plot is seldom used in meta-analysis, yet it is a very informative plot. In this article, we define and illustrate what the trace plot is, and discuss why it is important. The Bayesian version of the plot combines the posterior density of [tau], the between-study standard deviation, and the shrunken estimates of the study effects as a…

Network meta-analysis (NMA) incorporates all available evidence into a general statistical framework for comparing multiple treatments. Standard NMAs make three major assumptions, namely homogeneity, similarity, and consistency, and violating these assumptions threatens an NMA's validity. In this article, we suggest a graphical approach to…