Dickersin K
Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
JAMA. 1990 Mar 9;263(10):1385-9.
Publication bias is the tendency on the parts of investigators, reviewers, and editors to submit or accept manuscripts for publication based on the direction or strength of the study findings. Much of what has been learned about publication bias comes from the social sciences, less from the field of medicine. In medicine, three studies have provided direct evidence for this bias. Prevention of publication bias is important both from the scientific perspective (complete dissemination of knowledge) and from the perspective of those who combine results from a number of similar studies (meta-analysis). If treatment decisions are based on the published literature, then the literature must include all available data that is of acceptable quality. Currently, obtaining information regarding all studies undertaken in a given field is difficult, even impossible. Registration of clinical trials, and perhaps other types of studies, is the direction in which the scientific community should move.
发表偏倚是指研究者、评审人员和编辑根据研究结果的方向或强度来提交或接受稿件发表的倾向。关于发表偏倚的许多知识来自社会科学，而医学领域的相关知识较少。在医学领域，有三项研究为这种偏倚提供了直接证据。从科学角度（知识的全面传播）以及从那些综合多项类似研究结果（荟萃分析）的人的角度来看，预防发表偏倚都很重要。如果治疗决策基于已发表的文献，那么文献必须包括所有质量可接受的可用数据。目前，获取特定领域内所有开展研究的信息很困难，甚至是不可能的。临床试验以及或许其他类型研究的注册，是科学界应该努力的方向。
