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Glossary of terms used in health research - M

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  • Magnitude
    • Magnitude refers to the size of the estimate of effect, and the statistical significance and/or importance(clinical or social) of a quantitative finding. Magnitude and statistical significance are numerical calculations, but judgments about the importance of a measured effect are relative to the topic and the decision context.
  • Malpractice
    • MeSH
      Failure of a professional person, a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, especially when injury or loss follows.
  • Managed care
    • Wikipedia
      The term managed care is used to describe a variety of techniques intended to reduce the cost of providing health benefits and improve the quality of care ("managed care techniques") for organizations that use those techniques or provide them as services to other organizations ("managed care organization or MCO"), or to describe systems of financing and delivering health care to enrollees organized around managed care techniques and concepts ("managed care delivery systems").
  • Managed care programs
    • MeSH
      Health insurance plans intended to reduce unnecessary health care costs through a variety of mechanisms, including: economic incentives for physicians and patients to select less costly forms of care; programs for reviewing the medical necessity of specific services; increased beneficiary cost sharing; controls on inpatient admissions and lengths of stay; the establishment of cost-sharing incentives for outpatient surgery; selective contracting with health care providers; and the intensive management of high-cost health care cases. The programs may be provided in a variety of settings, such as health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations.
  • Manuscript
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      In publishing and academic contexts, a "manuscript" is the text submitted to the publisher or printer in preparation for publication, usually as a typescript prepared on a typewriter, or today, a printout from a PC, prepared in manuscript format.
      Compositions written by hand, as one written before the invention or adoption of printing. A manuscript may also refer to a handwritten copy of an ancient author. A manuscript may be handwritten or typewritten as distinguished from a printed copy, especially the copy of a writer's work from which printed copies are made.
      Manuscripts [MeSH - publication type]: works prepared by hand including handwritten or typescript drafts of pre-publication papers or works not otherwise reproduced in multiple copies.
  • Margin
    • Refers to the consequences of changes in the scale of service provision. The marginal cost/benefit is the change in cost/benefit arising from (strictly a one unit) increase or decrease in service provision. It does not mean small or insignificant and its meaning is best illustrated by contrasting it with the average. The marginal savings associated with a one day reduction in the length of a hospital stay for example are typically much lower than the average cost per hospital bed day because of the existence of fixed costs.
  • Marginal cost
    • Wikipedia
      The additional cost associated with producing one more unit of output. As pointed out earlier, in considering the optimal level of service provision, it is this cost concept that is crucial in economics.
  • Marital fertility rate
    • Number of live births to married women per 1,000 married women ages 15-44 or 15-49 in a given year.
  • Markov chain
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      A discrete random process with the property that the next state depends only on the current state.
      A stochastic process such that the conditional probability distribution for a state at any future instant, given the present state, is unaffected by any additional knowledge of the past history of the system.
  • Markov model
    • Wikipedia
      Markov models are tools used in decision analyses. Markov models are the basis of software programs that model what might happen to a cohort of patients during a series of cycles (e.g., periods of 1 year). The model allows for the possibility that patients might move from one health state to another. For instance, one patient may have a mild stroke in one 3-month cycle, continue with minimal functional limitation for a number of cycles, have a gastrointestinal bleeding episode in a subsequent cycle, and finally experience a major stroke. Ideally, data from randomized trials will determine the probability of moving from one state to another during any cycle under competing management options.
  • Marriage
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Marriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship.
      The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby men and women are joined together for the purpose of founding a family unit.
  • Mass media
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a large audience. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. However, some forms of mass media such as books and manuscripts had already been in use for centuries.
      Instruments or technological means of communication that reach large numbers of people with a common message: press, radio, television, etc.
  • Mass media campaigns
    • Mass media reach all or a large part of the general population (broad coverage). They may be used to enhance public awareness on drugs, provide information on drugs or how to confront drug addiction. Examples are TV and cinema, advertising, press and radio (Internet, posters, leaflets, stickers, t-shirts, might be part of such a campaign).
  • Mass screening
    • MeSH
      Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.
  • Matched-pair analysis
    • MeSH
      A type of analysis in which subjects in a study group and a comparison group are made comparable with respect to extraneous factors by individually pairing study subjects with the comparison group subjects (e.g., age-matched controls).
  • Matching
    • Wikipedia
      A sampling method to ensure that the two groups to be compared have similar characteristics. In an intervention study, pairs of similar “matched” subjects are formed and then one member of the pair is randomly assigned to one group and the other member to the other group. In a case-control study: choosing one or more controls with particular matching attributes for each case. Researchers match cases and controls according to particular variables that are thought to be important, such as age and sex.
  • Maternal-child health centers
    • MeSH
      Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children.
  • Maternal death
    • Wikipedia
      Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days after termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes. To facilitate the identification of maternal deaths in circumstances in which cause-of-death attribution is inadequate, ICD 10 introduced an additional category, pregnancy-related death, which is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the cause of death.
      Also called maternal mortality.
  • Maternal health services
    • MeSH
      Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.
  • Maternal mortality
    • MeSH
      Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population.
  • Maternal mortality ratio
    • Wikipedia
      Number of women dying of pregnancy-related causes out of 100,000 live births in a given year.
      The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the annual number of female deaths from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births, for a specified year. Late maternal deaths are excluded from this calculation.
      The number of women who die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth complications per 100,000 live births in a given year.
      Number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births during a specified time period, usually 1 year.
  • Maternal mortality ratio, reported
    • The quotient between the number of maternal deaths in a given year and the number of live births in that same year, expressed by 100,000 live births, for a given country, territory, or geographic area, as reported from the national health authority. Maternal death is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within the 42 days after termination of that pregnancy, regardless of the length and site of the pregnancy, due to any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy itself or its care but not due to accidental or incidental causes.
  • Maximum tolerated dose
    • MeSH
      The highest dose of a drug or treatment that does not cause unacceptable side effects. The maximum tolerated dose is determined in clinical trials by testing increasing doses on different groups of people until the highest dose with acceptable side effects is found. Also called MTD.
      The highest dose of a biologically active agent given during a chronic study that will not reduce longevity from effects other than carcinogenicity.
  • Mean
    • Wikipedia
      In mathematics and statistics, the arithmetic mean (or simply the mean) of a list of numbers is the sum of all of the list divided by the number of items in the list.
  • Mean age
    • The mathematical average age of all the members of a population.
  • Mean difference
    • Wikipedia
      In meta-analysis: a method used to combine measures on continuous scales (such as weight), where the mean, standard deviation and sample size in each group are known. The weight given to the difference in means from each study (e.g. how much influence each study has on the overall results of the meta-analysis) is determined by the precision of its estimate of effect and, in the statistical software in RevMan and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, is equal to the inverse of the variance. This method assumes that all of the trials have measured the outcome on the same scale.
  • Measure of association
    • A quantified relationship between exposure and disease; includes relative risk, rate ratio, odds ratio.
  • Measure of central location
    • A central value that best represents a distribution of data. Measures of central location include the mean, median, and mode. Also called the measure of central tendency.
  • Measure of dispersion
    • A measure of the spread of a distribution out from its central value. Measures of dispersion used in epidemiology include the interquartile range, variance, and the standard deviation.
  • Measurement bias
    • Wikipedia
      Measurement bias occurs when the methods of measurement are consistently dissimilar in different groups of patients.
      Also called information bias.
  • Measurement validity
    • Measurement validity refers to the degree to which a measurement actually measures what it purports to.
  • Median
    • Wikipedia
      The median of a distribution is a midpoint at which one half of the observations fall below and one half fall above the value.
  • Median age
    • The age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older.
  • Median survival
    • Length of time that one-half of the study population survives.
  • Medical algorithm
    • Wikipedia
      A medical algorithm is any computation, formula, statistical survey, nomogram, or look-up table, useful in healthcare. Medical algorithms include decision tree approaches to healthcare treatment (i.e., if symptoms A, B, and C are evident, then use treatment X) and also less clear-cut tools aimed at reducing or defining uncertainty. Medical algorithms are part of a broader field which is usually fit under the aims of medical informatics and medical decision making. Medical decisions occur in several areas of medical activity including medical test selection, diagnosis, therapy and prognosis, and automatic control of medical equipment.
  • Medical audit
    • MeSH
      A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of medical care.
  • Medical classification
    • Wikipedia
      Medical classification, or medical coding, is the process of transforming descriptions of medical diagnoses and procedures into universal medical code numbers.
  • Medical consensus
    • Wikipedia
      Medical consensus is a public statement on a particular aspect of medical knowledge available at the time it was written, and that is generally agreed upon as the evidence-based, state-of-the-art (or state-of-science) knowledge by a representative group of experts in that area.
  • Medical economics
    • MeSH
      Economic aspects of the field of medicine, the medical profession, and health care. It includes the economic and financial impact of disease in general on the patient, the physician, society, or government.
  • Medical error
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Medical error is an inaccurate or incomplete diagnosis and/or treatment of a disease; injury; syndrome; behavior; infection or other ailment.
      Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (diagnostic errors), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (medication errors), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from malpractice in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent.
  • Medical ethics
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Medical ethics is primarily a field of applied ethics, the study of moral values and judgments as they apply to medicine.
      The principles of professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the physician, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the physician in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families.
  • Medical guideline
    • Wikipedia
      A medical guideline (also called a clinical guideline, clinical protocol or clinical practice guideline) is a document with the aim of guiding decisions and criteria regarding diagnosis, management, and treatment in specific areas of healthcare.
  • Medical informatics
    • MeSH
      The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.
  • Medical journal
    • Wikipedia
      A medical journal is a scientific journal devoted to the field of medicine.
  • Medical law
    • Wikipedia
      Medical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient.
  • Medical literature
    • Wikipedia
      Medical literature refers to articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of medicine.
  • Medical malpractice
    • Wikipedia
      Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which care provided deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient.
  • Medical practice
    • Wikipedia
      A medical practice or practice of medicine is the practice of medicine, as performed by a medical practitioner—a physician (medical doctor). Typically, practicing medicine involves giving a diagnosis and prescribing a treatment for medical condition.
  • Medical record
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      A medical record, health record, or medical chart is a systematic documentation of a patient's individual medical history and care.
      Recording of pertinent information concerning patient's illness or illnesses.
  • Medical statistics
    • Wikipedia
      Medical statistics deals with applications of statistics to medicine and the health sciences, including epidemiology, public health, forensic medicine, and clinical research.
  • Medically assisted reproduction
    • Reproduction brought about through ovulation induction, controlled ovarian stimulation, ovulation triggering, ART procedures, and intrauterine, intracervical, and intravaginal insemination with semen of husband/partner or donor.
  • Medication
    • Wikipedia
      A legal drug that is used to prevent, treat, or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal condition.
  • Medication adherence
    • MeSH
      Voluntary cooperation of the patient in taking drugs or medicine as prescribed. This includes timing, dosage, and frequency.
      Also called medication compliance.
  • Medication error
    • MeSH
      Error in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the indicated proper drug dosage.
  • Medicine
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Refers to the practices and procedures used for the prevention, treatment, or relief of symptoms of a diseases or abnormal conditions. This term may also refer to a legal drug used for the same purpose.
      The art and science of studying, performing research on, preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease, as well as the maintenance of health.
  • Meeting abstracts
    • Meeting abstracts [MeSH - publication type]: for individual abstracts of presentations at meetings, congresses, conferences, symposia, colloquia, seminars, workshops, round tables, and other professional gatherings.
  • Member checking
    • Wikipedia
      In qualitative research, this involves sharing draft study findings with the participants to inquire whether their viewpoints were faithfully interpreted and to ascertain whether the account makes sense to participants with different perspectives.
  • Mendelian randomization
    • Wikipedia
      In epidemiology, Mendelian randomization is a method of using non-experimental studies to examine the causal effect of a modifiable exposure on disease by making use of measured variation in genes of known function.
  • Mendelian randomization analysis
    • MeSH
      The use of the genetic variation of known functions or phenotypes to correlate the causal effects of those functions or phenotypes with a disease outcome.
  • Meta-analysis
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      The use of statistical techniques in a systematic review to integrate the results of included studies. Sometimes misused as a synonym for systematic reviews, where the review includes a meta-analysis.
      A statistical technique that summarizes the results of several studies in a single weighted estimate, in which more weight is given to results of studies with more events and sometimes to studies of higher quality.
      A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.
      Meta-analysis [MeSH - publication type]: works consisting of studies using a quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc. It is often an overview of clinical trials. It is usually called a meta-analysis by the author or sponsoring body and should be differentiated from reviews of literature.
  • Meta-regression
    • Wikipedia
      In meta-analysis: a technique used to explore the relationship between study characteristics (e.g. concealment of allocation, baseline risk, timing of the intervention) and study results (the magnitude of effect observed in each study) in a systematic review.
      A collection of statistical procedures (weighted/unweighted linear, logistic regression) to assess heterogeneity, in which the effect size of study is regressed on one or several covariates, with a value defined for each study.
  • Meta-synthesis
    • A procedure for combining qualitative research on a specific topic in which researchers compare and analyze the texts of individual studies and develop new interpretations.
  • Methodological rigor
    • Methodological rigor refers to the robustness and credibility of the methods that are used in a study, and whether the study methods are appropriate to the study question.
  • Methodology
    • Wikipedia
      The precise design of a study, including the methods used.
  • Mid-range
    • Wikipedia
      The halfway point or midpoint in a set of observations. For most types of data, it is calculated as the sum of the smallest observation and the largest observation, divided by two. For age data, one is added to the numerator. The midrange is usually calculated as an intermediate step in determining other measures.
      In statistics, the mid-range or mid-extreme of a set of statistical data values is the arithmetic mean of the maximum and minimum values in a data set.
  • Midwife
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      A midwife is a person who, having been regularly admitted to a midwifery educational program that is duly recognized in the country in which it is located, has successfully completed the prescribed course of studies in midwifery and has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery. The educational program may be an apprenticeship, a formal university program, or a combination.
      WHO Statistical Information System: includes professional midwives, auxiliary midwives and enrolled midwives. Traditional birth attendants are counted as community health workers.
  • Midwifery
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      A health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during their pregnancy, labor and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also care for the newborn through to six weeks of age, including assisting the mother with breastfeeding.
      The practice of assisting women in childbirth.
  • Millennium development goals
    • Wikipedia
      The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include reducing extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.
  • Minimal important difference
    • The smallest difference in a patient-important outcome that patients perceive as beneficial and that would mandate, in the absence of troublesome adverse effects and excessive cost, a change in the patient’s health care management.
  • Minimization
    • Wikipedia
      A method of allocation used to provide comparison groups that are closely similar for several variables. The next participant is assessed with regard to several characteristics, and assigned to the treatment group that has so far had fewer such people assigned to it. It can be done with a component of randomization, where the chance of allocation to the group with fewer similar participants is less than one. Minimization is best performed centrally with the aid of a computer program to ensure concealment of allocation.
  • Minor
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      The term minor is used to refer to a person who is under the age in which one legally assumes adulthood and is legally granted rights afforded to adults in society. Depending on the jurisdiction and application, this age may vary, but is usually marked at either 12, 16, 18, 20, or 21. Specifically, the status of minor is defined by the age of majority.
      A person who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded.
  • Minority health
    • MeSH
      The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of members of minority groups.
  • Miscarriage
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      The spontaneous loss of a clinical pregnancy that occurs before 20 completed weeks of gestational age (18 weeks post fertilization) or, if gestational age is unknown, the loss of an embryo/fetus of less than 400 grams.
      The spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation.
      Expulsion of the product of fertilization before completing the term of gestation and without deliberate interference.
      Also called spontaneous abortion.
  • Missed abortion
    • MeSH
      A clinical abortion where the embryo(s) or fetus(es) is/are non-viable and is/are not expelled spontaneously from the uterus.
      The retention in the uterus of a dead fetus two months or more after its death.
  • Mixed-methods study
    • A study that combines data collection approaches, sometimes both qualitative and quantitative, into the study methodology and is commonly used in the study of service delivery and organization. Some mixed-methods studies combine study designs (e.g., investigators may embed qualitative or quantitative process evaluations alongside quantitative evaluative designs to increase understanding of factors influencing a phenomenon). Some mixed-methods studies include a single overarching research design but use mixed-methods for data collection (e.g., surveys, interviews, observation, and analysis of documentary material).
  • Mode
    • Wikipedia
      The most frequent measurement in a distribution.
      A measure of central location, the most frequently occurring value in a set of observations.
  • Molecular epidemiology
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Molecular epidemiology is a branch of medical science that focuses on the contribution of potential genetic and environmental risk factors, identified at the molecular level, to the etiology, distribution and prevention of disease within families and across populations.
      The application of molecular biology to the answering of epidemiological questions. The examination of patterns of changes in DNA to implicate particular carcinogens and the use of molecular markers to predict which individuals are at highest risk for a disease are common examples.
  • Monitoring
    • Wikipedia
      The continuous oversight of an activity to assist in its supervision and to see that it proceeds according to plan.
      The act of overseeing the progress of a clinical trial, and of ensuring that it is conducted, recorded, and reported in accordance with the protocol, standard operating procedures (SOPs), GCP, and the applicable regulatory requirement(s).
  • Monitoring report
    • A written report from the monitor to the sponsor after each site visit and/or other trial-related communication according to the sponsor's SOPs.
  • Monograph
    • Wikipedia
      A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually also by a single author.
      Monograph [MeSH - publication type]: work that is any publication that is not a serial or integrating resource. in cataloging usage, it is usually on a single subject or related subjects and is complete in itself, whether constructed of chapters, sections, or parts. While any article encountered in indexing journals can be, strictly speaking, a monograph, as a publication type, a monograph will refer to a cataloging item.
  • Monte Carlo method
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Monte Carlo methods (or Monte Carlo experiments) are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results.
      In statistics, a technique for numerically approximating the solution of a mathematical problem by studying the distribution of some random variable, often generated by a computer. The name alludes to the randomness characteristic of the games of chance played at the gambling casinos in Monte Carlo.
  • Moral hazard
    • Wikipedia
      The possibility of consumers or providers exploiting a benefit system unduly to the detriment or disadvantage of other consumers, providers or the financing community as a whole, without having to bear the financial consequences or their behavior in part or in full.
  • Moral obligations
    • MeSH
      Duties that are based in ethics, rather than in law.
  • Morbidity
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Morbidity (from Latin morbidus: sick, unhealthy) refers to a diseased state, disability, or poor health due to any cause. The term may be used to refer to the existence of any form of disease, or to the degree that the health condition affects the patient.
      The frequency of disease, illness, injuries, and disabilities in a population.
      The proportion of patients with a particular disease during a given year per given unit of population.
  • Morbidity rate
    • Wikipedia
      In epidemiology and actuarial science, the term morbidity rate can refer to either the incidence rate, or the prevalence of a disease or medical condition.
      Morbidity rate refers to the number of individuals in poor health during a given time period (the prevalence rate) or the number who currently have that disease (the incidence rate), scaled to the size of the population.
      Illness or disability rate, usually expressed per 1000 population.
  • Mortality
    • MeSH
      All deaths reported in a given population.
  • Mortality rate
    • Wikipedia
      Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in some population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 in a population of 100,000 would mean 950 deaths per year in that entire population.
      Death rate per defined population, usually expressed per 1000.
  • Mortality reduction
    • A measure of the benefit of a treatment in terms of lives saved. The mortality reduction can be represented in many ways, including relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction, and increased life expectancy.
  • Multi-arm trial
    • A trial with more than two arms.
  • Multicenter study
    • MeSH
      A clinical trial that is carried out at more than one medical institution.
      A clinical trial conducted according to a single protocol but at more than one site, and, therefore, carried out by more than one investigator.
      A trial conducted at several geographical sites. Trials are sometimes conducted among several collaborating institutions, rather than at a single institution - particularly when very large numbers of participants are needed.
      Controlled studies which are planned and carried out by several cooperating institutions to assess certain variables and outcomes in specific patient populations, for example, a multicenter study of congenital anomalies in children.
      Multicenter study [MeSH - publication type]: work consisting of a controlled study executed by several cooperating institutions.
  • Multidisciplinary opinion
    • A treatment planning approach in which a number of doctors who are experts in different specialties (disciplines) review and discuss the medical condition and treatment options of a patient.
  • Multilevel analysis
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      In statistics, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), also known as multi-level analysis, is a more advanced form of simple linear regression and multiple linear regression.
      The statistical manipulation of hierarchically and non-hierarchically nested data. It includes clustered data, such as a sample of subjects within a group of schools. Prevalent in the social, behavioral sciences, and biomedical sciences, both linear and nonlinear regression models are applied.
  • Multiphasic screening
    • MeSH
      The simultaneous use of multiple laboratory procedures for the detection of various diseases. These are usually performed on groups of people.
  • Multiple comparisons
    • Wikipedia
      The performance of multiple analyses on the same data. Multiple statistical comparisons increase the probability of making a Type I error, i.e. attributing a difference to an intervention when chance is a reasonable explanation.
  • Multiple regression
    • Wikipedia
      A type of regression that provides a mathematical model that explains or predicts the dependent or target variable by simultaneously considering all of the independent or predictor variables.
  • Multiplicative model
    • A statistical model in which the combined effect of several factors is the product of the effects produced by each in the absence of the others. For example, if one factor multiplies risk by a% and a second factor by b%, the combined effect of the two factors is a multiplication by (a x b)%.
  • Multiple birth
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy.
      Multiple gestation/birth: a pregnancy/delivery with more than one fetus/neonate.
      The offspring in multiple pregnancies (pregnancy, multiple): twins; triplets; quadruplets; quintuplets; etc.
  • Multiple pregnancy
    • MeSH
      The condition of bearing two or more fetuses simultaneously.
  • Multiplicity
    • The proliferation of possible comparisons in a trial. Common sources of multiplicity are multiple outcome measures, outcomes assessed at several time points after the intervention, and subgroup analyses. Also arises when there are multiple intervention groups.
  • Multistage sampling
    • Wikipedia
      A multistage sample is an extension of a cluster sample, where the initial clusters are broken into further smaller clusters. Once a final selection of clusters to sample is made, a proportion of the subjects within each cluster is sampled. (e.g. if the sampling frame was an entire country then the country would be broken down into regions, then these regions would be broken down into cities and towns and then these would be randomly sampled).
  • Multivariate analysis
    • MeSH - Wikipedia
      Measuring the impact of more than one variable at a time while analyzing a set of data, e.g. looking at the impact of age, sex, and occupation on a particular outcome. Performed using regression analysis.
      A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.