Welcome to the web pages for ICEMAN! ICEMAN is an instrument to help researchers identify credible effect modification (also called subgroup effect, statistical interaction, moderation, or heterogeneity of treatment effects). 

Users of ICEMAN include 

• Trial investigators who are planning or considering the results of a subgroup analysis;

• Meta-analysts  who are planning or considering the results of a subgroup analysis;

• Authors of systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines who assess subgroup claims made in published reports of trials or meta-analyses;

• Journal editors, referees, methods consultants, and others concerned with the quality of subgroup analyses in trials or meta-analyses.

Two different versions are available, one for randomized controlled trials and one for meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials; a manual provides detailed explanations and examples from the literature. Click here to download the latest material.

Cite ICEMAN as follows: 

Schandelmaier S, Briel M, Varadhan R, Sauerbrei W, Devasenapathy N, Hayward RA, Gagnier J, Borenstein M, VanderHeijden GJMG, Dahabreh I, Schmid CH, Ioannidis JPA, Walsh M, Thabane L, Guyatt GH. Development of a new Instrument to assess the Credibility of Effect Modification ANalyses (ICEMAN) in randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. CMAJ. 2020 192(32):E901-E906

Click here to see related publications

Email us to suggest improvements. We welcome any feedback!