MRC Biostatistics Unit, Institute of Public Health, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR, U.K.
Stat Med. 2010 Mar 30;29(7-8):945-55. doi: 10.1002/sim.3813.
Asymmetry in the funnel plot for a meta-analysis suggests the presence of dissemination bias. This may be caused by publication bias through the decisions of journal editors, by selective reporting of research results by authors or by a combination of both. Typically, study results that are statistically significant or have larger estimated effect sizes are more likely to appear in the published literature, hence giving a biased picture of the evidence-base. Previous statistical approaches for addressing dissemination bias have assumed only a single selection mechanism. Here we consider a more realistic scenario in which multiple dissemination processes, involving both the publishing authors and journals, are operating. In practical applications, the methods can be used to provide sensitivity analyses for the potential effects of multiple dissemination biases operating in meta-analysis.
漏斗图的不对称表明存在发表偏倚。这种偏倚可能是由期刊编辑的决策导致的出版偏倚、作者有选择性地报告研究结果或两者共同作用的结果。通常，具有统计学意义或估计效果较大的研究结果更有可能出现在已发表的文献中，从而对证据基础产生有偏差的描述。以前用于解决发表偏倚的统计方法仅假设存在单一的选择机制。在这里，我们考虑了一种更现实的情况，其中涉及出版作者和期刊的多个传播过程同时在起作用。在实际应用中，这些方法可用于对荟萃分析中存在的多种传播偏倚的潜在影响进行敏感性分析。
