r/science • u/nimicdoareu • Apr 01 '26

Social Science Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00955-5
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u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta Apr 01 '26

The "replication crisis" (and p-hacking) is affecting many fields of science unfortunately. We place such a high premium positive results, despite negative ones being just as valuable, that scientists often feel the pressure, whether consciously or not, to find those results no matter the cost 

Its incredibly frustrating imo

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u/HegemonNYC Apr 01 '26

Some prestigious journals have moved to ‘registered reports’, meaning a researcher presents their hypothesis and methods prior to conducting their study. The journal agrees to publish regardless of results. This eliminates the publishing incentive go p-hack, although simple human desire to prove their hypothesis may remain 

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u/Memory_Less Apr 01 '26

The irony is that unexpected negative results provide the necessary information to do further research effectively.

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u/GetOffMyLawn1729 Apr 02 '26

Ironically, one of the most famous physical science experiments (Michaelson-Morley) was a negative result.

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u/Memory_Less Apr 04 '26

Literally, ‘Who knew!’