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Data from: The extent and consequences of p-hacking in science

Cite this dataset

Head, Megan L. et al. (2016). Data from: The extent and consequences of p-hacking in science [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.79d43

Abstract

A focus on novel, confirmatory, and statistically significant results leads to substantial bias in the scientific literature. One type of bias, known as “p-hacking,” occurs when researchers collect or select data or statistical analyses until nonsignificant results become significant. Here, we use text-mining to demonstrate that p-hacking is widespread throughout science. We then illustrate how one can test for p-hacking when performing a meta-analysis and show that, while p-hacking is probably common, its effect seems to be weak relative to the real effect sizes being measured. This result suggests that p-hacking probably does not drastically alter scientific consensuses drawn from meta-analyses.

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