Obtaining and managing data sets for individual participant data meta-analysis: scoping review and practical guide

Background Shifts in data sharing policy have increased researchers’ access to individual participant data (IPD) from clinical studies. Simultaneously the number of IPD meta-analyses (IPDMAs) is increasing. However, rates of data retrieval have not improved. Our goal was to describe the challenges of retrieving IPD for an IPDMA and provide practical guidance based on a review of the literature and practical examples and observations.

Methods  We…