Review of publication bias in studies on publication bias: here's a proposal for editors that may help reduce publication bias.

We offer a solution to this problem that lies at the disposal of journal editors. Preliminary editorial decisions could be based solely on the peer review of the introduction and methods sections of submitted papers. These two sections deal with the key issues on which editorial decisions would ideally be based: the importance of the research question and the potential for the study design and proposed analyses to inform that question.