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Fig. 4 | BMC Medical Research Methodology

Fig. 4

From: An approach to exploring patterns of imbalance and potential missingness in reports of the randomized baseline values for primary outcomes measurable at baseline in randomized controlled trials for meta-analyses

Fig. 4

Forest plots for a meta-analysis without skewness of the distribution. A Standard forest plot for baseline mean differences. B Forest plots for other studies. The vertical axis represents a probability from 0 to 1. The horizontal axis represents a baseline standardized mean difference (SMD), and a negative SMD value indicates that the treatment group is better at baseline. The size of the square shows the weight of trials. A black square represents a negative direction, and a white square represents a positive direction. The polygon indicates a pooled estimate \((\widehat b)\). The red line follows the cumulative normal distribution function with a mean of zero and variance \(\mathit{\operatorname{var}}(\hat{b})\). The red circle indicates the median and mean value of the distribution, which is SMD = 0

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BMC Medical Research Methodology

ISSN: 1471-2288

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