All research starts with questions. Sometimes there are the questions where we think we know the answers — where we have hypotheses to test. Then there are the questions where we don’t know what we’ll find. So, on the questions of what the global research community thinks about “null” or “negative” results, we wanted to ask what you think about reporting and publishing null or negative results. 

First: what do we mean by null or negative results? 

Null results, which can also be known as negative or inconclusive results, mean an outcome that doesn’t confirm the hypothesis which the study, experiment or research is testing. So that means: you did the study properly and rigorously, and you obtained results, but those results didn’t match up with what you expected to find, or they didn’t confirm your hypothesis. 

Why this matters?

Your response will help us understand the challenges and opportunities associated with sharing null findings within the research community - even if you have limited experience with null results. Understanding how to make scholarly publishing more inclusive and accessible for all researchers is part of our commitment to you. 

What do you think? 

These are some of the reasons why Springer Nature’s journal editors highly value all rigorously done results, even if they don’t confirm the original hypotheses. But, that’s our perspective. And as many of us are trained as scientists and researchers ourselves, we want to know what we don’t know — we want to know what you think. 

So we’re sending out a global survey to find out — which includes a chance to win a prize draw for a US$100 Visa gift card (or equivalent in your local currency). Your response will help us to understand the challenges and opportunities associated with sharing null results. And your opinion has value even if you have limited experience with null results. 

And we will publish our results!

Like good researchers, we will publish these survey results and analysis in a white paper in 2025. We will post a distillation of the white paper here, too — so mark your calendars now. 

Take the survey now!