Evidence of small-study effects exists for cognition and motivation, but trim-and-fill adjustment leaves the moderate motivating effect essentially unchanged¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesisr3·q3
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Egger's test indicates small-study effects for cognition (p = .004) and motivation (p = .002); after trim-and-fill imputation the motivation mean drops only from 0.51 to 0.43. → Michaela Arztmann 2023
Evidence¶
Michaela Arztmann 2023¶
Michaela Arztmann, Lisette Hornstra, Johan Jeuring & Liesbeth Kester (2023). Effects of games in STEM education: a meta-analysis on the moderating role of student background characteristics. Studies in Science Education, 59:1, 109-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2022.2057732
q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3
Publication-bias analysis using Egger's regression test and Duval & Tweedie's trim-and-fill. Four studies were imputed for motivation and one for behaviour (adjusted mean 0.92); no studies were imputed for cognition. The article concludes "the basic conclusion (that games have a motivating effect compared to traditional teaching) remains unchanged".
"the observed weighted mean for motivation is 0.51 and the adjusted weighted mean, after imputing these missing studies, is 0.43"
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- School level shows a marginal moderating effect on motivational outcomes, with secondary students experiencing a lower motivating effect than primary students
- Game-based learning in primary and early secondary STEM education shows moderate positive effects on cognition, motivation, and behaviour compared to traditional classrooms — related
- The text generation research field shows a small-study effect suggesting publication bias — related
- Publication bias is detected in the cross-sectional data set, and bias-corrected estimates are highly heterogeneous — related
- Publication-bias tests (Egger's test and trim-and-fill) indicate absence of publication bias for the overall effect and moderators — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
publication-bias-small-study-effects-games-stem |
title |
Evidence of small-study effects exists for cognition and motivation, but trim-and-fill adjustment leaves the moderate motivating effect essentially unchanged |
description |
Evidence of small-study effects exists for cognition and motivation, but trim-and-fill adjustment leaves the moderate motivating effect essentially unchanged |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — michaela-arztmann-2023 |
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