HOW TO PERFORM A META-ANALYSIS: A PRACTICAL STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE USING R SOFTWARE AND RSTUDIO

Meta-analysis is an adequate statistical technique to combine results from different studies, and its use has been growing in the medical field. Thus, not only knowing how to interpret meta-analysis , but also knowing how to perform one , is fundamental today. Therefore , the objective of this article is to present the basic concepts and serve as a guide for conducting a meta-analysis using R and RStudio software. For this, the reader has access to the basic commands in the R and RStudio software , necessary for conducting a meta-analysis. The advantage of R is that it is a free software. For a better understanding of the commands, two examples were presented in a practical way, in addition to revising some basic concepts of this statistical technique. It is assumed that the data necessary for the meta-analysis has already been collected , that is, the description of methodolo-gies for systematic review is not a discussed subject. Finally , it is worth remembering that there are many other techniques used in meta-analyses that were not addressed in this work. However , with the two examples used, the article already enables the reader to proceed with good and robust meta-analyses. Level of Evidence V, Expert Opinion.