Evidence of the File Drawer/Publication Bias Problem in Organization Research: An Affirmative Replication of Dalton, Aguinis, Dalton, Bosco, and Pierce (2012)

The file drawer problem and related publication bias have effect when research not published for reasons including statistically nonsignificant results, small effects, or small samples, is overlooked when collecting studies for quantitative meta-analyses, resulting in meta-analytic estimates that are larger than true effects. In a replication of a study by Dalton, Aguinis, Dalton, Bosco, & Pierce, (2012), I examined the implications of this problem for meta-analytic research in the organization sciences. In the replication, I compared mean effects from 23 recent meta-analyses of organization research that included both published and unpublished data with mean effects provided by the meta-analyses' authors that included published data alone. In failing to produce evidence of a file drawer/publication bias problem after accounting for possible Type 1 error, the comparisons in my study provided additional evidence that was consistent with the conclusion reached by Dalton and colleagues that the file drawer problem and related publication bias are not as prevalent in organizational research as has sometimes been suggested.