Open Meta Analyst: Powerful Open-Source Software for Meta-Analysis

OpenMeta[Analyst] is a cross-platform open-source software for advanced meta-analysis. This cross-platform software was:

Meta-analysis is an important statistical method used to synthesize results from multiple studies and draw statistically more robust conclusions than those based on individual studies. However, conducting meta-analyses can be a challenging task, especially for researchers who are not familiar with the statistical methods involved. This is where OpenMetaAnalyst comes in – it is a powerful open-source software that helps researchers conduct meta-analyses with ease and efficiency.

OpenMetaAnalyst is a software tool that was developed by the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Brown University. The software is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to researchers with a wide range of experience levels. OpenMetaAnalyst is free to download and use, making it an ideal tool for researchers with limited resources.

One of the key features of OpenMetaAnalyst is its ability to conduct meta-analyses using a variety of statistical models. The software supports both fixed- and random-effects models and more advanced models such as Bayesian meta-analysis. This flexibility allows researchers to choose the model that is best suited to their research question and data.

OpenMetaAnalyst also provides a range of visualization tools that make it easy to explore and interpret the results of a meta-analysis. For example, the software can produce forest plots, funnel plots, and other graphs that help illustrate the effect sizes and confidence intervals of the included studies. These visualizations can be customized to meet the researcher’s specific needs, making it easier to communicate the results of the meta-analysis to a broader audience.

Another key feature of OpenMetaAnalyst is its ability to conduct meta-regression analyses. Meta-regression is a statistical method that allows researchers to explore the relationship between study-level variables and the effect size estimates in a meta-analysis. OpenMetaAnalyst supports both univariate and multivariate meta-regression, making it a powerful tool for exploring the sources of heterogeneity in a meta-analysis (1).

OpenMetaAnalyst also provides various tools and features that make it a comprehensive software package for meta-analyses. The software supports the inclusion of multiple outcomes and subgroups in a meta-analysis, and it can conduct sensitivity analyses to explore the impact of different methodological choices on the results. Additionally, the software supports the export of results to various formats, making it easy to share the results of a meta-analysis with collaborators or to include them in a publication.

In conclusion

OpenMetaAnalyst is a powerful open-source software tool that allows researchers to conduct meta-analyses. The software supports a wide range of statistical models and visualization tools, and it is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to researchers with a range of experience levels. OpenMetaAnalyst is free to download and use, making it an ideal tool for researchers with limited resources. Whether conducting a meta-analysis for a systematic review or a research project, OpenMetaAnalyst is an essential tool that can help you synthesize your results and draw more robust conclusions.