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5029244 
Book/Book Chapter 
Chapter 12: Software for statistical meta-analysis 
Schmid, CH; Stewart, GB; Rothstein, HR; Lajeunesse, MJ; Gurevitch, J 
2013 
Princeton University Press 
Princeton, NJ 
Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution 
English 
is part of a larger document 5029185 Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
To conduct a meta-analysis, a researcher will need software to perform all but the simplest calculations. Three types of software can be used, depending on user needs: a spreadsheet, a general purpose statistical package, and a program developed expressly to carry out meta-analysis. This chapter first reviews the stand-alone programs, then discusses the general purpose software, and finally briefly reviews two programs that can extract the data underlying a graphical display. Readers need to keep in mind that software features, cost, and availability all change fairly rapidly over time; while some of the specific information provided may soon be out of date, the general issues and principles discussed in choosing software for meta-analysis will have a longer half-life. Web searches, the Methods sections of recent research syntheses, and professional meetings where research synthesis results and methods are presented, are good resources for keeping up with both software availability and developments in methodology.