In an empirical evaluation of the funnel plot, researchers could not visually identify publication bias

Ref ID 365
First Author N. Terrin
Journal JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Year Of Publishing 2005
URL https://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(05)00082-X/fulltext
Keywords Publication bias
Heterogeneity
General medical
Problem(s) Poor consideration of publication bias
Inadequate analysis of heterogeneity
Number of systematic reviews included 10
Summary of Findings On average, 41 medical researchers correctly identified 52.5% (95% CI 50.6–54.4%) of the funnel plots as being affected or unaffected by publication bias. The weighted mean percent correct, which adjusted for the fact that asymmetric plots are more likely to occur in the presence of publication bias, was also low (48.3 to 62.8%, depending on the presence or absence of publication bias and heterogeneous study effects). Researchers who assess for publication bias using the funnel plot may be misled by its shape.
Did the article find that the problem(s) led to qualitative changes in interpretation of the results? Not Applicable
Are the methods of the article described in enough detail to replicate the study? No