publication bias

publication bias

(pŭb″lĭ-kā′shŭn) [L. publicare, to confiscate, make public]

The tendency of professional journals to publish and report the results of research trials that show a large positive clinical effect. Studies that demonstrate no association between variables or those that show neutral effects are less likely to be published or reported.

publication bias

The tendency to publish reports of research that appears to support a hypothesis and to refrain from publishing findings that do not, thereby creating opinions about the truth of the hypothesis that may be unduly optimistic.