Definition The statistical analysis of a large collection of analysis results from individual studies for the purpose of integrating the findings

Why

Increase power and precision if studies are homogenous
- Can detect effect as statistically significant with narrower CIs
Quantify effect sizes and their uncertainty if studies are homogenous
- Reduce problems of interpretation due to sampling variation
Assess homogeneity/heterogeneity of results
- Quantify among-study variation
Answer questions not posed by the individual studies
- Factors that differ across studies
- Comparative effectiveness of multiple interventions
Settle controversies arising from conflicting studies
- Generate new hypothesis
ROI selection
Validate a new task or data acquisition approach
Functional decoding
Data-driven approach to validate cognitive models
Systematic analysis of variability (e.g., partipants, tasks, LABELS) can resolve conflict in a given community