paper

Double arcsine transform not appropriate for meta-analysis

arXiv:2203.04773 · doi:10.1002/jrsm.1591

Abstract

The variance-stabilizing Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transform was originally proposed for inference on single proportions. Subsequently, its use has been suggested in the context of meta-analysis of proportions. While some erratic behaviour has been observed previously, here we point out and illustrate general issues of monotonicity and invertibility that make this transform unsuitable for meta-analysis purposes.

4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table