"'Negative results' now account for only 14% of published papers, down from 30% in 1990. Yet knowing what is false is as important to science as knowing what is true."

How science goes wrong

Scientific research has changed the world. Now it needs to change itself

Oct 19th 2013

"Conversely, failures to prove a hypothesis are rarely even offered for publication, let alone accepted. “Negative results” now account for only 14% of published papers, down from 30% in 1990. Yet knowing what is false is as important to science as knowing what is true. The failure to report failures means that researchers waste money and effort exploring blind alleys already investigated by other scientists."