How is publication bias an ethical issue?

Apparently, publication bias poses serious threats to the integrity of scientific research. It prevents us from consuming objective, true, and unbiased research, and introduces much error in what we read and believe. Thus, publication bias and relevant topics should be addressed in research ethics modules and courses.

Why is publication bias an issue?

In the presence of publication bias, belief in the relationship increases artificially and iteratively with each positive publication. This, in turn, diminishes the credibility of hypothesis testing because it is based on biased information, and calls into question the integrity of the entire experimental framework.

Is bias an ethical issue?

As indicated, biases may pose ethical problems, such as stigmatization, discrimination, and injustice.

Why is reporting bias a major ethical issue in research?

Biases can lead to false conclusions, which might be misleading or even harmful. The use of biased results to inform further research or guide policies may have damaging consequences. Biased studies are not reproducible and will affect the credibility and validity of your work.

What is the risk of publication bias?

Specifically, the conclusions of the review may be compromised when decisions about how, when and where to report results of eligible studies are influenced by the nature and direction of the results. This is the problem of 'non-reporting bias' (also described as 'publication bias' and 'selective reporting bias').

Understanding Publication Bias in Research

What is a real life example of publication bias?

Publication Bias: is when certain types of studies are published over others. A real-life example of publication bias is a study was published about an antidepressant that was not approved for use in the U.S., but has been approved in other countries.

What is publication bias significant results?

Revised on February 15, 2023. Publication bias refers to the selective publication of research studies based on their results. Here, studies with positive findings are more likely to be published than studies with negative findings. Positive findings are also likely to be published quicker than negative ones.

What ethical issue is associated with reviewer bias in research publication?

Reviewers must disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the manuscript, and they should disqualify themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if they believe it to be appropriate.

What are the ethical issues in reporting research findings?

Is reporting bias the same as publication bias?

Reporting bias (publication bias or outcome reporting bias) occurs when the decision to report depends on the direction or magnitude of the findings. In clinical research, registration of trials prior to data collection is used to prevent selective reporting ( Chan et al., 2017; Gopal et al., 2018).

Is bias an ethical issue in research?

Any such trend or deviation from the truth in data collection, analysis, interpretation and publication is called bias. Bias in research can occur either intentionally or unintentionally. Bias causes false conclusions and is potentially misleading. Therefore, it is immoral and unethical to conduct biased research.

What makes an issue an ethical issue?

An ethical issue is a circumstance in which a moral conflict arises in the workplace; thus, it is a situation in which a moral standard is being challenged. Ethical issues in the workplace occur when a moral dilemma emerges and must be resolved within a corporation.

What are the four major ethical issues?

There are four main principles of ethics: autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence. Each patient has the right to make their own decisions based on their own beliefs and values.[4]. This is known as autonomy.

What type of bias is publication bias?

Publication bias is a type of reporting bias and closely related to dissemination bias, although dissemination bias generally applies to all forms of results dissemination, not simply journal publications.

How do you deal with publication bias?

Bias can be minimized by (1) insisting on high-quality research and thorough literature reviews, (2) eliminating the double standard concerning peer review and informed consent applied to clinical research and practice, (3) publishing legitimate trials regardless of their results, (4) requiring peer reviewers to ...

Is publication bias intentional?

Bias may be introduced intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously, into the process of research dissemination. 3,18 The dissemination profile of research may be influenced by investigators, study sponsors, peer reviewers, and journal editors.

What are the 5 main ethical issues in research?

Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research designs and practices. These principles include voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication.

How do you identify ethical issues?

When considering ethical issues, it is advised that you follow a stepwise approach in your decision-making process: Recognize there is an issue. Identify the problem and who is involved. Consider the relevant facts, laws and principles.

What are the ethical issues in research journals?

Duplicate or multiple submission is the most common ethics violation encountered. It is unethical for authors to publish articles describing essentially the same research result in more than one journal. It is also unacceptable for authors to submit the same manuscript concurrently to more than one journal.

What is an example of publication bias in research?

Publication bias occurs when one type of study result is more likely to be published than another. For example, publishing results of studies that show a new treatment provides significant benefits, but not always publishing studies that show less or no benefit, will lead to publication bias.

What is a publication What are the issues of ethics in publication?

Publication ethics in ARCC Journals refer to the ethical standards, policies, and guidelines set to ensure the integrity, quality, and validity of published research in science. These ethical standards aim to promote honesty, transparency, and accountability among authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, and readers.

What is violation of publication ethics in research?

Violation of publication ethics is a global problem which includes duplicate submission, multiple submissions, plagiarism, gift authorship, fake affiliation, ghost authorship, pressured authorship, salami publication and fraud (fabrication and falsification)[2,3] but excludes the honest errors committed by the authors.

How do you identify publication bias?

Several rank-based tests have been created to examine the correlation between effect-size estimates plotted in the funnel plot and their corresponding standard error or sampling variance. If the rank tests result in a strong correlation, then the presence of publication bias is implied.

Why publication bias is a threat to systematic reviews?

Evidence selection bias occurs when a systematic review does not identify all available data on a topic. This can arise from publication bias, where data from statistically significant studies are more likely to be published than those that are not statistically significant.

Why is assessing publication bias important?

Publication bias is when statistically significant results are more likely to be published than non-significant ones. These results are then more likely to be identified by future researchers conducting meta-analyses and other research on that topic, and thereby included.