Why It Is (Probably) Not Your Fault if Your Studies Do Not Work Out

Early career researchers, because of their role in data collection and analysis, are often first to experience the emotional impact of null or nonreplicable results. In this article, we lift the veil on null results by presenting their causes (i.e., low prior probability of the hypothesis, theoretical ambiguity) and consequences and offer early career researchers-especially researchers at less wealthy institutions-tools to deal with null results.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Published
2026-09-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916261471853
Primary Topic
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Why It Is (Probably) Not Your Fault if Your Studies Do Not Work Out

Daniël Lakens, Ethan Meimoun
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
article

Why It Is (Probably) Not Your Fault if Your Studies Do Not Work Out

Daniël Lakens, Ethan Meimoun
article en

Abstract

Early career researchers, because of their role in data collection and analysis, are often first to experience the emotional impact of null or nonreplicable results. In this article, we lift the veil on null results by presenting their causes (i.e., low prior probability of the hypothesis, theoretical ambiguity) and consequences and offer early career researchers-especially researchers at less wealthy institutions-tools to deal with null results.

Perspectives on Psychological Science
Université Paris Cité (FR), Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR), Eindhoven University of Technology (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.