The DOI matches its Crossref record; 34 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Modeling Publication Selection Effects in Meta-Analysis
Open accessAbstract
Publication selection effects arise in meta-analysis when the effect magnitude estimates are observed in (available from) only a subset of the studies that were actually conducted and the probability that an estimate is observed is related to the size of that estimate. Such selection effects can lead to substantial bias in estimates of effect magnitude. Research on the selection process suggests that much of the selection occurs because researchers, reviewers and editors view the results of studies as more conclusive when they are more highly statistically significant. This suggests a model of the selection process that depends on effect magnitude via the p-value or significance level. A model of the selection process involving a step function relating the p-value to the probability of selection is introduced in the context of a random effects model for meta-analysis. The model permits estimation of a weight function representing selection along the mean and variance of effects. Some ideas for graphical procedures and a test for publication selection are also introduced. The method is then applied to a meta-analysis of test validity studies.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Such connections between sample sizes and effect sizes would violate the assumptions needed to interpret asymmetric funnel plots and Egger's test as publication bias (it would also violate the assumptions underlying the selection models suggested by, e.g., Hedges, 1992 and Andrews & Kasy, 2019).”
From Targeted school‐based interventions for improving reading and mathematics for students with or at risk of academic difficulties in Grades K‐6: A systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as Hedges, 1992
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Wasserman, S. S., Hedges, L. V., & Olkin, I. (1988) · Journal of Educational Statistics · doi:10.2307/1164953 · Cited by 10,377
Self-citationThe file drawer problem and tolerance for null results.
Rosenthal, R. (1979) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.3.638 · Cited by 9,068
Meta-Analytic Procedures for Social Research.
Metcalfe, A., & Rosenthal, R. (1994) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series D (The Statistician) · doi:10.2307/2348600 · Cited by 4,249
Meta-analysis in social research
(1982) · Evaluation and Program Planning · doi:10.1016/0149-7189(82)90011-8 · Cited by 3,896
A Fail-Safe N for Effect Size in Meta-Analysis
Orwin, R. G. (1983) · Journal of Educational Statistics · doi:10.2307/1164923 · Cited by 2,064
The statistical power of abnormal-social psychological research: A review.
Cohen, J. (1962) · The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0045186 · Cited by 1,824
Tactics of Scientific Research
Sidman, M. (1960) · Cited by 1,638
Summing up: The Science of Reviewing Research
Wilkinson, I., Light, R. J., & Pillemer, D. B. (1987) · Journal of Educational Statistics · doi:10.2307/1164691 · Cited by 1,486
Consequences of prejudice against the null hypothesis.
Greenwald, A. G. (1975) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/h0076157 · Cited by 1,022
Sterling, T. D. (1959) · Journal of the American Statistical Association · doi:10.1080/01621459.1959.10501497 · Cited by 964
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- CHAmPNEY, T. F. (1983). Adjustments for selection: Publication bias in quantitative research synthesis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univ. Chicago.
- CoopER, H. M. (1984). The Integrative Research Review. Sage, Beverly Hills.
- HeDGEs, L. V. (1984). Estimation of effect size under nonrandom sampling: The effects of censoring studies yielding statistically insignificant mean differences. Journal of Educational Statistics 9 61–85.
- MELToN, A. W. (1962). Editorial. Journal of Experimental Psychology 64 553–557.
- WHITE, K. R. (1982). The relation between socioeconomic status and achievement. Psychological Bulletin 91 461-481.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–359 of 359
Lieberman, E. S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.003 · Cited by 2
Zhou, Y., Hu, T., Sakamoto, Y., Huang, A., Zhou, X., & Hattori, S. (2026) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.70595 · Cited by 2
Stroup, D. F., & Thacker, S. B. (2005) · Encyclopedia of Biostatistics · doi:10.1002/0470011815.b2a03083 · Cited by 2
Education and social capital: empirical evidence from microeconomic analyses
Huang, J. H. (2010) · UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) · Cited by 2
Dissertation R.C.M. van AertPreprint
van Aert, R. C. M. (2018) · MetArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/eqhjd · Cited by 3
Selective Reporting and the Social Cost of CarbonPreprint
Havránek, T., Iršová, Z., Janda, K., & Zilberman, D. (2015) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2585972 · Cited by 2
(2002) · Statistical Methods in Medical Research · doi:10.1002/9780470773666.refs · Cited by 2
Mathur, M. B., Peacock, J., Reichling, D. B., Nadler, J., Bain, P. A., Gardner, C. D., & Robinson, T. N. (2021) · OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/bc2wy · Cited by 6
Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication BiasPreprint
Ashenfelter, O., & Greenstone, M. (2004) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5241441 · Cited by 2
Garbero, A., & Stanghellini, E. (2025) · Journal of Development Effectiveness · doi:10.1080/19439342.2024.2436186 · Cited by 1
Ekeocha, D. O., & Garikipati, S. (2025) · The Energy Journal · doi:10.1177/01956574251340007 · Cited by 1
Adjusting for Publication Bias in Meta-Analysis with Continuous Outcomes: A Comparative Study
Almalik, O. (2025) · Mathematics · doi:10.3390/math13213487 · Cited by 3
Seah, T. H. S., Jensen, L. C. X., Eckstrand, K., & Forbes, E. E. (2026) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2026.102745 · Cited by 1
How to MERGE Environmental Information using Meta-Analysis
Zawadzki, J. J. (2012) · Cited by 1
Infinite diameter confidence sets in Hedges’ publication bias model
Moss, J. (2022) · Journal of the Korean Statistical Society · doi:10.1007/s42952-022-00169-1 · Cited by 1
Improving Research Transparency in the Social Sciences
Christensen, G., & Miguel, E. A. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190938550.003.0002 · Cited by 1
Gerring, J., Mahoney, J., & Elman, C. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.018 · Cited by 1
Gerring, J., & Cojocaru, L. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.005 · Cited by 1
Gerring, J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.014 · Cited by 1
Gross, N., & Robertson, C. T. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.017 · Cited by 1
Guillotin, Y., & Tensaout, M. (2003) · Cited by 1
The Impact of Immigration on International TradePreprint
Meta-Analysis, A. (2011) · SSRN Electronic Journal · Cited by 1
Boudesseul, J., Gildersleeve, K. A., Haselton, M. G., & Bègue, L. (2018) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/k8s5y · Cited by 2
Class Size and Student Achievement: A Modern Meta-AnalysisPreprint
Opatrný, M., Havránek, T., Iršová, Z., & Ščasný, M. (2023) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/ekrqs · Cited by 1
publipha: Bayesian Meta-Analysis with Publications Bias and P-Hacking
Moss, J. (2020) · doi:10.32614/cran.package.publipha · Cited by 1
Regional policies : convergence, trade, and the allocation of public capital
Celbiş, M. G. (2015) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20150625mc
Meta‐Analysis in Clinical Risk Assessment
Goldberg, J. D., Watson, H. N., & Friedman, H. P. (2008) · Encyclopedia of Quantitative Risk Analysis and Assessment · doi:10.1002/9780470061596.risk0587
Sensitivity methods for publication bias in a meta-analysis
Malley, P. (2026) · Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) · doi:10.82444/warw.33491746
Combining Information from Biological Experiments via Kalman Filter
Murty, B. R., & Fédérer, W. T. (1998)
de Laar, F. A. V., Akkermans, R., Grauw, W. J. D., & Hovens, M. M. C. (2005) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd005449
The inclusion of partially reported studies in a Bayesian meta-analysis
Barry, D. (2003) · Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference · doi:10.1016/s0378-3758(02)00169-6
The Lucrative Impact of Trade-Related Infrastructure: Meta-Analytic Evidence
Celbiş, M. G., Nijkamp, P. J., Poot, J., Vu, & Bedrijfskunde, F. D. E. W. E. (2013) · Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Essays in Applied EconomicsPreprint
Brodeur, A. (2017) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3024181
Snyder, C. M., & Zhuo, R. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3247630
Stroup, D. F., & Thacker, S. B. (2014) · Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online · doi:10.1002/9781118445112.stat05179
Casella, G., & Berger, R. L. (2005) · Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics eBooks · doi:10.1137/1.9780898718386.ch13
Sniff Tests as a Screen in the Publication Process: Throwing out the Wheat with the Chaff
Snyder, C. M., & Zhuo, R. (2018) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w25058
Meta‐Analysis in Clinical Risk Assessment
Goldberg, J. D., Watson, H. N., & Friedman, H. P. (2014) · Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online · doi:10.1002/9781118445112.stat03688
(2021) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119558378.ref
Liao, T. F. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.004
Tweedie, R. L. (2001) · Encyclopedia of Environmetrics · doi:10.1002/9780470057339.vam017
Elman, C., Gerring, J., & Mahoney, J. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108762519.019
Piegorsch, W. W., & Bailer, A. J. (2005) · doi:10.1002/0470012234.refs
Piantadosi, S. (2005) · Wiley series in probability and statistics · doi:10.1002/0471740136.biblio
vanAert_Niemeyer21Preprint
van Aert, R. C. M., & Niemeyer, H. (2020) · MetArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31222/osf.io/3rdys
Hedges, L. V. (2016) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0181
Self-citationYıldırım, E. (2023) · i-manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology · doi:10.26634/jet.20.2.20015
Meta-analysis with Jeffreys priors: Empirical frequentist propertiesPreprint
Mathur, M. B. (2024) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/7jvrw
Meta-analysis with Jeffreys priors: Empirical frequentist properties
Mathur, M. B. (2025) · Research Synthesis Methods · doi:10.1017/rsm.2024.2
Yang, Y., Johannesson, M., Fossen, F. M., Neyse, L., & Holzmeister, F. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5232078
Zhang, Q., Wang, X., Tian, X., & Gehlbach, H. (2025) · EdArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.35542/osf.io/nfwm4_v1 · Cited by 1
Addressing Outcome Reporting Bias in Meta‐Analysis: A Selection Model Perspective
Saracini, A. G., & Held, L. (2025) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/sim.70238
Yang, Y., Johannesson, M., Fossen, F. M., Neyse, L., & Holzmeister, F. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-33362-3
Zhou, L., Wang, J., Lou, K., Zheng, X., Li, X., & Zeng, X. (2026) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1177/21522715261449054
Does having daughters affect political preferences? Using meta-analytic tools on many surveys
Yang, Y., Johannesson, M., Dreber, A., Fossen, F. M., Neyse, L., & Holzmeister, F. (2026) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107641 · Cited by 1
Estimation and inference for step-function selection models in meta-analyses with dependent effects
Pustejovsky, J. E., Citkowicz, M., & Joshi, M. (2026) · Research Synthesis Methods · doi:10.1017/rsm.2026.10117
Chen, M. (2026) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-026-03206-7
Meta-analysis: formulating, evaluating, combining, and reporting
Normand, S.-L. T. (1999) · Statistics in Medicine · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0258(19990215)18:3
Metadata
- Authors
- Hedges, L. V.
- Corresponding author
- Hedges, Larry V.
- ORCID
- Hedges, Larry V.
- Venue
- Statistical Science
- Publisher
- Institute of Mathematical Statistics
- Published
- 1992-05-01
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 246-255
- ISSN
- 0883-4237 (ISSN-L)
- 2168-8745
- OpenAlex
- W2087875612
- Cited by
- 359
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 10.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Statistical Science (publishedVersion)
- Project Euclid (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › scientometrics and bibliometrics research
- Keywords
- publication bias, meta-analysis, p-values, significance level, selection probability, random effects models, weight functions, test validity, graphical procedure
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review