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ERIC Number: EJ1254382
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1759-2879
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Testing for Funnel Plot Asymmetry of Standardized Mean Differences
Pustejovsky, James E.; Rodgers, Melissa A.
Research Synthesis Methods, v10 n1 p57-71 Mar 2019
Publication bias and other forms of outcome reporting bias are critical threats to the validity of findings from research syntheses. A variety of methods have been proposed for detecting selective outcome reporting in a collection of effect size estimates, including several methods based on assessment of asymmetry of funnel plots, such as the Egger's regression test, the rank correlation test, and the Trim-and-Fill test. Previous research has demonstated that the Egger's regression test is miscalibrated when applied to log-odds ratio effect size estimates, because of artifactual correlation between the effect size estimate and its standard error. This study examines similar problems that occur in meta-analyses of the standardized mean difference, a ubiquitous effect size measure in educational and psychological research. In a simulation study of standardized mean difference effect sizes, we assess the Type I error rates of conventional tests of funnel plot asymmetry, as well as the likelihood ratio test from a three-parameter selection model. Results demonstrate that the conventional tests have inflated Type I error due to the correlation between the effect size estimate and its standard error, while tests based on either a simple modification to the conventional standard error formula or a variance-stabilizing transformation both maintain close-to-nominal Type I error.
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A