Introduction to Special Issue: Null Effects and Publication Bias in Learning Disabilities Research

Abstract

AbstractThe importance of publishing studies with null findings to the scientific enterprise is garnering attention in social science at large and education in particular. In this article, we first define null findings and publication bias as they relate to group and single‐subject instructional intervention research. We then explore the prevalence of instructional intervention studies that report null findings in the learning disabilities literature. Overall, we found that few studies have been published in learning disability journals that reported all null results. However, a significant number of group studies reported mixed findings (i.e., at least one, but not all, outcome measures were not statistically significant). Next, we summarize the experimental studies that comprise this special issue on null findings. Last, we speculate regarding strategies that might be enacted to increase the publication of studies with null findings in the learning disabilities field.