MetaAnalyst is an intuitive Windows-based program for performing meta-analyses. Development of the program was initially funded by a grant from NCRR, and is currently made possible by funding from AHRQ. The program remains under development at Tufts Medical Center. It is the digital offspring of Dr. Joseph Lau's original DOS-based Meta-Analyst tool.
The program is described at length in our BMC Methods article, entitled: Meta-Analyst: software for meta-analysis of binary, continuous and diagnostic data.
Sample output in
MetaAnalyst News
4/2/10 The following two issues have come to our attention:
1) There was a problem with the Bayes model with covariates for binary and continuous data. We have fixed the issue; please download the new version.
2) There is an issue with the diagnostic RSROC routine (note that this routine was previously designated as 'not thoroughly validated'). We are working on a new version which will move the computation to BUGS. This is not yet fixed.
1/6/10 By popular demand, we are releasing a new version with the ability to generate (much) higher resolution plots. In particular, right-click on any image in the results tab and select "save as...", then pick a destination. The saved image will have high resolution. Additionally, high-res copies of all plots that are currently auto-saved are also generated after each analysis. We've also introduced the ability to 'exclude' labels.
12/14/09 We have posted a new build that fixes an issue for those of you in countries that prefer commas to decimals for numbers.
See also our recent publication in BMC Research Methods.
11/09/09 We have posted a new build that allows Bayesian analyses over continuous data with metrics other than Mean-Difference (e.g., Hedges' G).
9/30/09 We have posted a new build that now reports the median posterior rather than the mean for the point estimate in Bayesian analyses.
9/17/09 A new build with a few bug fixes and enhanced sorting functionality for sub-group analyses has been posted.
6/2/09 A slightly updated version -- Beta 3.13 -- has been posted. This contains small bug fixes, mostly related to data entry quirks.
5/7/09 Beta 3.12 is out. There are a number of bug fixes and new features; including exploratory plots, enhanced editing capabilities and user interface improvements. We have updated the help document as well. This will likely be the last new batch of features added to Meta-Analyst in its current incarnation, but we will continue providing bug fixes as they arise. We are planning to start work on a new, cross-platform version of Meta-Analyst integrated with R.
1/27/09 Beta 3.0 is out. We've improved and extended the forest-plot editing introduced in the 'preview' of 3.0, 2.5, among other new features. We've also written a help document, which covers how to use some of the new functionality. Finally, due to inactivity and its awkward format, we've replaced the wiki with a forum to discuss bugs, new features, etc. please use it to discuss any problems you're having with the software, or to provide suggestions and feedback!.
12/15/08 We are releasing a preview version of 3.0, Beta 2.5, early! This version allows real-time editing of forest plots. E.g.,
Beta 3.0 will be out sometime next month.
11/19/08 Beta 2.0 is out! Now with more BUGS! (hopefully not the software kind). For Bayesian meta-analyses, we've seamlessly integrated
BUGS with Meta-Analyst. For more on this and other new features, head over to the features page.
We really encourage people to start using the wiki forum to provide feedback! Also check out the new statistical documentation.
9/12/08 We now have a wiki Forum to discuss bugs, feature requests, etc. To edit the wiki, you'll need this 'wikidot' password: meta271828 when creating your account.