Questionable Research Practices in Experimental Communication Research: A Systematic Analysis From 1980 to 2013
- Author(s)
- Jörg Matthes, Franziska Marquart, Brigitte Naderer, Florian Arendt, Desiree Schmuck, Karoline Adam
- Abstract
Questionable research practices (QRPs) pose a major threat to any scientific discipline. This article analyzes QRPs with a content analysis of more than three decades of published experimental research in four flagship communication journals: Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, and Media Psychology. Findings reveal indications of small and insufficiently justified sample sizes, a lack of reported effect sizes, an indiscriminate removal of cases and items, an increasing inflation of p-values directly below p <.05, and a rising share of verified (as opposed to falsified) hypotheses. Implications for authors, reviewers, and editors are discussed.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Communication
- External organisation(s)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Journal
- Communication Methods & Measures
- Volume
- 9
- Pages
- 193-207
- No. of pages
- 15
- ISSN
- 1931-2458
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/19312458.2015.1096334
- Publication date
- 2015
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 508009 Media research, 508007 Communication science
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/questionable-research-practices-in-experimental-communication-research-a-systematic-analysis-from-1980-to-2013(d6ac7eea-ad94-43f4-ad39-1b7642806153).html