Meta set problem

[Mario Petretta]

Dear all
I'm using StataNow 18.5
SE—Standard Edition
Windows 10 - 64 bit

When I use
db meta
and I use the GUI "declare generic, precomputed effect size" using only Treatment effect (TE) and Standard Error of TE (sTE)
the program automatically adds options and an error results:

meta set TE sTE, civarlevel(99.9) civartolerance() studylabel(var1) nometashow
option civartolerance() incorrectly specified
r(198);

If I use manually in the command line (it is a simple example)

meta set TE sTE

it is all OK: see below

Meta-analysis setting information

Study information
No. of studies: 3
Study label: Generic
Study size: N/A

Effect size
Type: <generic>
Label: Effect size
Variable: TE

Precision
Std. err.: sTE
CI: [_meta_cil, _meta_ciu]
CI level: 95%

Model and method
Model: Random effects
Method: REML

what am I doing wrong? Mario Petretta

[Andrew Musau]

meta set TE sTE, civarlevel(99.9) civartolerance() studylabel(var1) nometashow
option civartolerance() incorrectly specified
r(198);

The error message is clear. From the documentation, the option -civartolerance()- expects a number.

civartolerance(#) is relevant only when you specify CI variables cilvar and ciuvar with meta set. cilvar and ciuvar must define
a symmetric CI based on the normal distribution. civartolerance() specifies the tolerance to check whether the CI is
symmetric. The default is civartolerance(1e-6). Symmetry is declared when reldif(ciuvar - esvar, esvar - cilvar) < #.

Why add it if you are not explicitly specifying a tolerance level? Just omit it and Stata will use its default value (1e-6) if the option is needed.


ADDED IN EDIT: I may have misread your issue. If what you state is that you get this error when using the command's menu, then it may be a bug that you can report to Technical Services at https://www.stata.com/support/tech-support/contact/.

[Mario Petretta]

The problem is that when I write in the command window:
meta set TE sTE
it is all OK

Wen i try to use meta set in the graphical interface after db meta an error results:
I try:
meta set TE sTE

the response in the results window is
meta set TE sTE, civarlevel(99.9) civartolerance() studylabel(var1) nometashow
option civartolerance() incorrectly specified
r(198);

what am I doing wrong?

[David Fisher]

I have just tried this myself, and indeed the GUI does seem to be auto-generating the civartolerance() option, so that if the user does not specify a value for this option, the result is an error. This does sound like a bug.

[Mario Petretta]

Tx David. Yes. This does sound like a bug.