Why it is important to include unpublished data in systematic reviews

Abstract

It is known that studies with statistically significant results have a higher probability to be published (publication bias). Therefore, studies with no statistically significant differences (or not favoring the investigational drug) may not be found in commonly accessed databases and remain unpublished. Moreover, unpublished data may also refer to information that are not included in study reports published in scientific journals but that may be important to estimate study outcomes. Retrieving unpublished evidence represents a compelling challenge for researchers, and in the present paper we explore how to do it.