ERIC Number: EJ1019294
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Nov
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
Outcome-Reporting Bias in Education Research
Pigott, Therese D.; Valentine, Jeffrey C.; Polanin, Joshua R.; Williams, Ryan T.; Canada, Dericka D.
Educational Researcher, v42 n8 p424-432 Nov 2013
Outcome-reporting bias occurs when primary studies do not include information about all outcomes measured in a study. When studies omit findings on important measures, efforts to synthesize the research using systematic review techniques will be biased and interpretations of individual studies will be incomplete. Outcome-reporting bias has been well documented in medicine and has been shown to lead to inaccurate assessments of the effects of medical treatments and, in some cases, to omission of reports of harms. This study examines outcome-reporting bias in educational research by comparing the reports of educational interventions from dissertations to their published versions. We find that nonsignificant outcomes were 30% more likely to be omitted from a published study than statistically significant ones.
Descriptors: Educational Research, Research Reports, Bias, Outcome Measures, Theses, Statistical Significance, Experimenter Characteristics, Medical Research, Research Universities, Outcomes of Treatment, Outcomes of Education, Meta Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A