Unpacking P-Hacking and Publication Bias / Abel Brodeur, Scott E. Carrell, David N. Figlio, Lester R. Lusher.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brodeur, Abel.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Carrell, Scott E.

Figlio, David N.

Lusher, Lester R.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w31548.

NBER working paper series no. w31548

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2023.

Summary:

We use unique data from journal submissions to identify and unpack publication bias and p-hacking. We find that initial submissions display significant bunching, suggesting the distribution among published statistics cannot be fully attributed to a publication bias in peer review. Desk-rejected manuscripts display greater heaping than those sent for review i.e. marginally significant results are more likely to be desk rejected. Reviewer recommendations, in contrast, are positively associated with statistical significance. Overall, the peer review process has little effect on the distribution of test statistics. Lastly, we track rejected papers and present evidence that the prevalence of publication biases is perhaps not as prominent as feared.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2023.