Evidential Value of Intervention Studies in Two School Psychology Journals: A p-Curve Analysis of Research from 2011 to 2021

This study uses p-curve analysis to examine the evidential value of intervention studies published in two major journals in the field of school psychology. We undertook this study in the context of the growing concerns about publication bias, replication crisis, and questionable research practices. We conducted our primary analysis on p values from 37 intervention studies published from 2011 to 2021 in the journals of two national school psychology professional organizations. The analysis shows that, overall, this set of studies does contain evidential value. However, while the subset of academic and mental health and well-being intervention studies contains strong evidential value, the subset of social-emotional and behavioral interventions does not and the results of those studies are unlikely to be reproduced if replicated. The present study demonstrates how p-curve analysis can be used to assess the evidential value of intervention studies in school psychology and to identify areas of research that may be more subject to questionable research practices and publication bias. Embracing open science and open science practice are the keys to enhancing the science foundation for intervention practices and promoting evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes.