Why Discovering ‘Nothing’ in Science Can Be So Incredibly Important

Science Alert  January 9, 2022
What we don’t usually hear about is the years of back-breaking, painstaking hard work that delivers inconclusive results, appearing to provide no evidence for the questions scientists ask. Yet without non-detections – what we call the null result – the progress of science would often be slowed and stymied. Null results drive us forward. They keep us from repeating the same errors and shape the direction of future studies. Often, however, null results don’t make it to scientific publications. This not only generates significant inefficiencies in the way science is done, but it’s also an indicator of potentially bigger problems in the current scientific publication processes. When wielded correctly, a null result can yield some extraordinary findings. Academic publishing has been grappling with this problem, too. In 2002 the Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine – was established to encourage the publication of results that might not otherwise see the light of day. Publication needs to incentivize not null results in and of themselves, but studies designed in such a way that these results can be interpreted and published in their appropriate context…read more.