What is forest plot?

A forest plot is a graph of estimated results from several different studies. It takes all the relevant studies asking the same question, identifies a common statistic in all the above mentioned papers and displays them on a single set of axis. Doing this helps to compare directly what the studies show and the quality of that result all in one place. Forest plots are also called blobbograms. Forest plots can take several forms of representation. However, they are commonly presented with two columns: left-hand and right-hand columns. The left-hand column lists the names of the studies (frequently randomized controlled trials or epidemiological studies), commonly in chronological order from the top downwards. The right-hand column is a plot of the measure of effect (e.g. an odds ratio) for each of these studies (often represented by a square) incorporating confidence intervals represented by horizontal lines.

Analyzing a forest plot may be difficult initially. To help students with that, there are online tutorials available discussing a step-by-step procedure on how to read or analyze a forest plot. For example, you can refer to the following link: https://www.students4bestevidence.net/blog/2016/07/11/tutorial-read-forest-plot/.