Publication bias (Chow, 2018)

Purpose: The purpose of this research note is to systematically document the extent that researchers who publish in American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) journals search for and include unpublished literature in their meta-analyses and test for publication bias.

Method: This research note searched all ASHA peer-reviewed journals for published meta-analyses and reviewed all qualifying articles for characteristics related to the acknowledgement and assessment of publication bias.

Results: Of meta-analyses published in ASHA journals, 75% discuss publication in some form; however, less than 50% test for publication bias. Further, only 38% (n = 11) interpreted the findings of these tests.

Conclusion: Findings reveal that more attention is needed to the presence and impact of publication bias. This research note concludes with 5 recommendations for addressing publication bias.

Supplemental Material S1. Summary of common publication bias tests.

Chow, J. C. (2018). Prevalence of publication bias tests in speech, language, and hearing research. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-18-0098