p-Uniform* is an Estimator of the Three-Parameter Selection Model: Commentary on van Aert and van Assen (2026)

Van Aert and Van Assen (2026; https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02812-4) introduced a novel method called p-uniform* for estimating average effect size in meta-analyses subject to publication bias. They characterized the method as a distinct, more parsimonious model than the well-known three-parameter selection model (3PSM) of Hedges (1992; https://doi.org/10.1214/ss/1177011364). I argue that p-uniform* is not a distinct model, but rather a different estimator of the average effect size and heterogeneity parameters of the 3PSM. The p-uniform* estimator coincides with the maximum likelihood estimator of the 3PSM when all included effects have identical sampling variances; otherwise, the estimators differ. Before p-uniform* is used in applications, its properties should be thoroughly explored in simulations under realistic data-generating processes with primary studies that vary in sample size.