Comparison of requirements and capabilities of major multipurpose software packages.
The aim of this chapter is to introduce the reader to commonly used software packages and illustrate their input requirements, analysis options, strengths, and limitations. We focus on packages that perform more than one function and include a program for quality control, linkage, and association analyses. Additional inclusion criteria were (1) programs that are free to academic users and (2) currently supported, maintained, and developed. Using those criteria, we chose to review three programs: Statistical Analysis for Genetic Epidemiology (S.A.G.E.), PLINK, and Merlin. We will describe the required input format and analysis options. We will not go into detail about every possible program in the packages, but we will give an overview of the packages requirements and capabilities.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. rpi@case.edu
Robert P
RP
Igo
Audrey H
AH
Schnell
D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D010375:Pedigree; D011786:Quality Control; D012984:Software