SOFTWARE TO AID IN THE META-ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH

META-ANALYSIS IS AN EMERGING TECHNIQUE FOR SYSTEMATICALLY AND STATISTICALLY POOLING RESULTS FROM DIFFERENT STUDIES. THE TECHNIQUE CAN BE USED TO INCREASE STATISTICAL POWER, RESOLVE UNCERTANITY WHEN REPORTS DISAGREE, IMPROVE ESTIMATESOF EFFECT SIZE, AND ANSWER QUESTIONS NOT POSED AT THE START OF INDIVIDUAL TRIALS. META-ANALYSIS CAN HELP REDUCE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL CLINICAL TRIALS AND, AT THE SAME TIME, PROVIDE FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS. STATE-OF-THE-ART IBM PC-BASED SOFTWARE WILL BE DEVELOPED TO AID IN THE USE OF META-ANALYSIS. DESIGNED FROM THE GROUND UP TO UTILIZE THE UNIQUE CAPABILITIES OF DESKTOP COMPUTERS, THIS EASY-TO-USE SOFWARE WILL HELP RESEARCHERS ORGANIZE THE LITERATURE PERTAINING TO A GIVEN TOPIC, COMPUTE VARIOUS STATISTICS BASED ON INDIVIDUAL STUDIES, COMPUTE VARIOUS CUMULATIVE STATISTICS BASED ON THE DATA POOLED ACROSS THESE STUDIES, AND GRAPHICALLY ANALYZE THE DATA ACROSS STUDIES. BECAUSE THIS TOOL WILL PERMIT INDIVIDUALS WITH SUBJECT AREA EXPERTISE TO INDEPENDENTLY TEST THEORIES, EXPLORE RELATIONSHIPS, AND IDENTIFY TRENDS, THIS TOOL WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF RESEARCH IN A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES.