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inconsistency

— In treatment comparisons, unexplained variation in effect estimates among similar studies

Synonyms:

heterogeneity, variability

Full explanation:

Inconsistency in effect estimates across studies with similar (but not exactly the same) participants, treatments and outcomes an be due to the play of chance, or to differences in the participants, treatments, outcomes, or design and conduct of the studies. Unexplained inconsistency is a reason for there being less certainty of the evidence for an effect estimate.

See also:

certainty of the evidence

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