• Am. J. Gastroenterol. · Sep 2008

    Comment

    Positive reasons for publishing negative findings.

    • Jason T Connor.
    • Berry Consultants, Orlando, Florida 32835, USA.
    • Am. J. Gastroenterol. 2008 Sep 1; 103 (9): 2181-3.

    AbstractScientific and medical authors tend to be biased toward submitting "statistically significant" findings for publication. Journals show a similar bias in publishing such "positive" studies. The large number of publications in medical research means that, in a field obsessed with controlling Type I error rates, we have journals with an abundance of Type I errors. Failing to publish studies that do not show a treatment or exposure effect creates a literature conspicuously absent of trials necessary for unbiased meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Furthermore, by shelving or rejecting studies with nonstatistically significant outcomes, authors and editors censor the most important contributors to medical research: our consenting volunteers.

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