An index of the quality of evidence in meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The quality of evidence in meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials is the degree to which the estimated effect represents the truth. Current approaches to assessing the quality of evidence focus on trial design and methods. I describe a new quality of evidence index composed of four sub-indexes that measure pre-registration, independent replication, data availability, and trial design and methods, respectively. This index is systematic, objective, and quantitative. I illustrate the index with an empirical example and provide a spreadsheet for easy calculation.