MIX - The program
The MIX program is a statistical add-in for Excel 2000 or later. It can be used to reproduce the meta-analytical calculations and graphical data explorations of virtually all data sets that are used in the most authoritative books about meta-analysis. As it is frequently updated, the MIX program is not only an ideal tool for learning and teaching about modern meta-analysis, user-defined data sets can be analyzed with up-to-date methods.
The name and the logo
The name 'MIX' stands for Meta-analysis with Interactive eXplanations or alternatively Meta-analysis In eXcel. It's just an acronym that we thought would be easy to remember. The logo was recently updated and shows a 'MIX' of part of a normal distribution and the diamond that is often used in meta-analysis to represent the meta-analysis result.
Citation
As of MIX 1.61, we are using a strict citation policy. If you use MIX for scientific purposes (for journal publications, book chapters, presentations, workshops, or courses), we ask you to to use the following two citations to refer to MIX:
Bax L, Yu LM, Ikeda N, Tsuruta H, Moons KGM: Development and validation of MIX: comprehensive free software for meta-analysis of causal research data. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2006, 6(50).
Bax L, Yu LM, Ikeda N, Tsuruta H, Moons KGM: MIX: comprehensive free software for meta-analysis of causal research data. Version 1.7. http://mix-for-meta-analysis.info, 2008.
Although we cannot really enforce this policy, we would like to stress that the more MIX is referenced, the easier it will be to explain to our supporters and sponsors that it is important to keep MIX free and alive.