If failed science experiments are more frequent than successful ones,why aren't they reported more often?

Answer 1

A failed experiment generally means (if the experiment was well designed) that your explanation for a phenomenon was wrong. People, including scientists, are naturally interested in explanations that might be right, so it is tougher to get negative results published - and I would argue researchers are less interested in writing them up. However, such results are actually valuable, and since few ideas are original, publishing negative results would probably save a lot of time and research money by preventing repeating an experiment in the future.

One solution, and this is often done, is to combine negative results with related experiments that have positive results. I've done this and it does help to tell a more complete story about a phenomenon, while making the publication of negative results more palatable.

Answer 2

Well, for one thing, they're probably not reported because they are more frequent. Secondly, while failures may be informative to other researchers in the field, they are less so to the rest of us.

For example, if they are researching administration routes for a new drug, and they discover it doesn't work if you put it in your ear, or put it in your eye, or stick it up your nose, or rub it on your skin, etc., as potential user of this drug, none of this is useful to me...I want (need) to know how I DO take the drug, which is a positive result (success story)...you swallow it.

Answer 3

Because the whole point of failed experiments is to make the object they're making better and helpful to the world.. Reporting what they did wrong could make people not use the item

Answer 4

Nobody ever gets funding for unsuccessful science experiments, and most journals have no desire to publish them.

Besides, a book containing all of the failed experiements of the past month would probably fill a room.

Answer 5

the purpose of a scientific experiment is to test if a theory is valid - if an experiment has "failed" it generally means that the result is not conclusive and does not confirm or contradict the theory - consequently there is no point in reporting it

Answer 6

If you made one, would you let others know?