[R-meta] forest plot and study-specific effect

[Yefeng Yang]

Dear community,

I have a small question about the forest plot used in the meta-analysis.

The forest plots and their varieties are often used in meta-analysis papers to show the overall/grand mean, individual effect size estimates, and other relevant info depending on the software making them. We know the effect size estimates from individual studies are usually noisy or not very precise. But, why do meta-analysts prefer to report individual effect size estimates rather than the study-specific effects (which benefit from the shrinkage or borrowing of strength). Or, put differently, the developers of software that can make forest plots do not seem to provide the option of showing study-specific effects (I did not check carefully; some software or packages might provide this functionality). Is there any specific reason? Or, it is just a convention.

Best,
Yefeng

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