What is publication bias in research?

Publication bias is defined as the failure to publish the results of a study on the basis of the direction or strength of the study findings.

What is publication bias and why is it a problem?

A problem inherent in any method of article retrieval is publication bias. Publication bias refers to the phenomenon that studies published in peer-refereed journals are much more likely to report statistically significant results than are studies that report a nonsignificant conclusion, especially for smaller studies.

What is a real life example of publication bias?

Many factors contribute to publication bias. For instance, once a scientific finding is well established, it may become newsworthy to publish reliable papers that fail to reject the null hypothesis. Most commonly, investigators simply decline to submit results, leading to non-response bias.

How do you check for publication bias?

Various statistical tests have been proposed for publication bias in the funnel plot, such as Begg's rank test (Begg and Mazumdar, 1994) and Egger's regression test (Egger et al., 1997) and its extensions (e.g., Macaskill et al., 2001; Rothstein et al., 2005; Harbord et al., 2006; Peters et al., 2006).

How is publication bias an ethical issue?

Publication bias is defined as "the tendency on the parts of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or the strength of the study findings."Publication bias distorts the accumulated data in the literature, causes the over estimation of potential ...

Understanding Publication Bias in Research

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.

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').

What is the best test for publication bias?

Egger's test is commonly used to assess potential publication bias in a meta-analysis via funnel plot asymmetry (Egger's test is a linear regression of the intervention effect estimates on their standard errors weighted by their inverse variance).

How can publication bias be avoided?

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 ...

Why is publication bias important?

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.

How many studies are needed for publication bias?

Second, investigators should use appropriate techniques to assess publication bias such as Egger's regression or symmetry of funnel plots whenever there are greater than 10 studies combined in a meta-analysis (with less than 10 the assessment methods are not very reliable).

Is citation bias the same as publication bias?

By selectively citing certain publications, additional to publication and outcome reporting bias, knowledge development can be subtly driven into a certain direction [4]. In case the citation or noncitation of publications is based on the nature and direction of the results, it is called citation bias [5].

What is the difference between selection bias and publication bias?

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.

How do you deal with publication bias in meta-analysis?

Is bias considered an ethical issue?

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

Is bias an ethical issue in research?

Biases have ethical and practical implications in research. It is crucial to be objective and avoid bias before, during and after your research.

What are ethical issues in the publishing industry?

Ethical integrity is essential to writing and publication. Important ethical concerns to consider while writing a manuscript include etiquette, fraudulent publication, pla- giarism, duplicate publication, authorship, and potential for conflict of interest.

Why is reporting bias a major ethical issue in research?

Bias causes false conclusions and is potentially misleading. Therefore, it is immoral and unethical to conduct biased research. Every scientist should thus be aware of all potential sources of bias and undertake all possible actions to reduce or minimize the deviation from the truth.

What is an example of reporting bias in research?

Reporting bias can lead to false conclusions being drawn from experiments and may even lead to harm for patients or subjects involved in a study. For example, if a researcher does not report all of their data, it could lead them to think that their treatment works better than it does.

Why bias should be avoided in research?

Bias can damage research, if the researcher chooses to allow his bias to distort the measurements and observations or their interpretation. When faculty are biased about individual students in their courses, they may grade some students more or less favorably than others, which is not fair to any of the students.

What is an example of bias in research?

Examples include the phrasing of questions in surveys, how participants perceive the researcher, or the desire of the participant to please the researcher and to provide socially desirable responses. Response bias also occurs in experimental medical research.

Why ethical issues are important in publication?

Ethical issues are much more important in medical research and publication as they directly affect the suffering humanity. They are important during the execution and reporting of a research, reviewing an article, and for journal editors.

What is an example of publication ethics?

Why is publication ethics important?

By upholding publication ethics, researchers uphold the integrity of their work, protect the reputation of their field, and foster public trust in the scientific process.

What are the risks of bias in research?

Risks of bias are the likelihood that features of the study design or conduct of the study will give misleading results. This can result in wasted resources, lost opportunities for effective interventions or harm to consumers.