In empirical research

Empirical research

Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively...

, reporting bias refers to a tendency to under-report unexpected or undesirable experimental results, attributing the results to sampling

Sampling (statistics)

In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....

 or measurement error, while being more trusting of expected or desirable results, though these may be subject to the same sources of error. Over time, reporting bias can lead to a status quo where multiple investigators discover and discard the same results, and later experimenters justify their own reporting bias by observing that previous experimenters reported different results. Thus, each incident of reporting bias can make future incidents more likely.

Type of reporting bias

• Publication bias
  Publication bias
  Publication bias is the tendency of researchers, editors, and pharmaceutical companies to handle the reporting of experimental results that are positive differently from results that are negative or inconclusive, leading to bias in the overall published literature...
  
  : The publication or nonpublication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of the results.
• Time lag bias: The rapid or delayed publication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of the results.
• Multiple (duplicate) publication bias: The multiple or singular publication of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of the results.
• Location bias: The publication of research findings in journals with different ease of access or levels of indexing in standard databases, depending on the nature and direction of results.
• Citation bias: The citation or non-citation of research findings, depending on the nature and direction of the results.
• Language bias: The publication of research findings in a particular language, depending on the nature and direction of the results.
• Outcome reporting bias: The selective reporting of some outcomes but not others, depending on the nature and direction of the results.

See also

• Confirmation bias
  Confirmation bias
  Confirmation bias is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true.David Perkins, a geneticist, coined the term "myside bias" referring to a preference for "my" side of an issue...
  
  
• Funding bias
  Funding bias
  The terms funding bias, sponsorship bias, funding outcome bias, or funding publication bias refer to an observed tendency of the conclusion of a scientific research study to support the interests of the study's financial sponsor. This phenomenon is recognized sufficiently that researchers undertake...
  
  
• Meta-analysis
  Meta-analysis
  In statistics, a meta-analysis combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses. In its simplest form, this is normally by identification of a common measure of effect size, for which a weighted average might be the output of a meta-analyses. Here the...
  
  
• Publication bias
  Publication bias
  Publication bias is the tendency of researchers, editors, and pharmaceutical companies to handle the reporting of experimental results that are positive differently from results that are negative or inconclusive, leading to bias in the overall published literature...
  
  
• Peer review
  Peer review
  Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
  
  
• Selection bias
  Selection bias
  Selection bias is a statistical bias in which there is an error in choosing the individuals or groups to take part in a scientific study. It is sometimes referred to as the selection effect. The term "selection bias" most often refers to the distortion of a statistical analysis, resulting from the...