IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jorssa/v151y1988i3p419-445.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Publication Bias: A Problem in Interpreting Medical Data

Author

Listed:
  • Colin B. Begg
  • Jesse A. Berlin

Abstract

Publication bias, the phenomenon in which studies with positive results are more likely to be published than studies with negative results, is a serious problem in the interpretation of scientific research. Various hypothetical models have been studied which clarify the potential for bias and highlight characteristics which make a study especially susceptible to bias. Empirical investigations have supported the hypothesis that bias exists and have provided a quantitative assessment of the magnitude of the problem. The use of meta‐analysis as a research tool has focused attention on the issue, since naive methodologies in this area are especially susceptible to bias. In this paper we review the available research, discuss alternative suggestions for conducting unbiased meta‐analysis and suggest some scientific policy measures which could improve the quality of published data in the long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin B. Begg & Jesse A. Berlin, 1988. "Publication Bias: A Problem in Interpreting Medical Data," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 151(3), pages 419-445, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:151:y:1988:i:3:p:419-445
    DOI: 10.2307/2982993
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2307/2982993
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2307/2982993?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:151:y:1988:i:3:p:419-445. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rssssea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.