Double arcsine transform not appropriate for meta-analysis.
Christian RöverTim FriedePublished in: Research synthesis methods (2022)
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 behavior 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.