What is the best software for meta-analysis?
I usually use RevMan for meta-analysis. What is the limitation of RevMan compared to other software (STATA or CMA)?
The most important limitation of RevMan is that it is a "point and click" software with little flexibility when you need to validate several hypotheses or in case you need extra-analyses. In short, RevMan is useful for some basical features and when you have standard and basic needs. I started using it especially for the ready to publish figures that are very interesting (forest plots, flow chart, ROB figures).
However, as soon as you get an unusual finding or need to change the default measurement methods used in RevMan or to answer to a specific reviewer question you are in a dead end!
For these situations, using a programming flexible interface is the best solution.
I'm a big fan of R (free and large community of user that help when you have an issue) and metafor package which is very well developed (Homepage [The metafor Package] (metafor-project.org) ) but other packages are also available (meta, metasens, ...). So for me R is the solution that is providing me solution to all practical problems I have and also helps to publish high quality figures (another advantage or R is its graphical capacity).
There is some learning curve when being new in R but that's the best investment I made starting from scratch in the last years (not only for meta-analysis but for many other medical statistical questions I need to answer in my practice).
I hope this helps!
I am a fan of RevMan, however you cannot perform meta-regression and sensitivity analysis. Nevertheless it is user friendly and you can perform meta-analysis of dichotomous and continuous data. You can create nice forest and funnel plots and risk of bias according to Cochrane. You can also create summary of findings for your evidence according to GRADE.
One of the widely used and highly regarded software for conducting meta-analysis is Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA). CMA provides a user-friendly interface, extensive statistical tools, and a comprehensive set of features for conducting meta-analyses across various research domains. Other popular options include RevMan (Review Manager) and Metafor in R, depending on user preferences and familiarity with specific programming languages. Ultimately, the "best" software may depend on the specific needs of the user, the nature of the meta-analysis, and individual preferences regarding interface and functionality.
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