The effect of publication bias magnitude and direction on the certainty in evidence

Mohammad Hassan Murad, Haitao Chu, Lifeng Lin, Zhen Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

132 Scopus citations

Abstract

Publication bias occurs when studies with statistically significant results have increased likelihood of being published. Publication bias is commonly associated with inflated treatment effect which lowers the certainty of decision makers about the evidence. In this guide we propose that systematic reviewers and decision makers consider the direction and magnitude of publication bias, as opposed to just the binary determination of the presence of this bias, before lowering their certainty in the evidence. Direction of bias may not always exaggerate the treatment effect. The presence of bias with a trivial magnitude may not affect the decision at hand. Various statistical approaches are available to determine the direction and magnitude of publication bias.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)84-86
Number of pages3
JournalBMJ evidence-based medicine
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018.

Keywords

  • internal medicine
  • statistics & research methods

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