Teixeira da Silva Jaime A
, P.O. Box 7, Miki-cho Post Office, Ikenobe 3011-2, Kagawa-ken, 761-0799, Japan.
J Negat Results Biomed. 2015 Jul 7;14:12. doi: 10.1186/s12952-015-0033-9.
Negative results are an important building block in the development of scientific thought, primarily because most likely the vast majority of data is negative, i.e., there is not a favorable outcome. Only very limited data is positive, and that is what tends to get published, albeit alongside a sub-set of negative results to emphasize the positive nature of the positive results. Yet, not all negative results get published. Part of the problem lies with a traditional mind-set and rigid publishing frame-work that tends to view negative results in a negative light, or that only tends to reward scientists primarily for presenting positive findings. This opinion piece indicates that in addition to a deficient mind-set, there are also severe limitations in the availability of publishing channels where negative results could get published.
阴性结果是科学思维发展的重要基石，主要是因为极有可能绝大多数数据都是阴性的，也就是说，没有一个有利的结果。只有非常有限的数据是阳性的，而这往往会被发表，尽管会同时发表一部分阴性结果以强调阳性结果的积极性质。然而，并非所有阴性结果都会被发表。部分问题在于传统思维模式和僵化的出版框架，它们倾向于以负面眼光看待阴性结果，或者只倾向于主要奖励那些呈现阳性发现的科学家。这篇观点文章指出，除了思维模式的缺陷外，可供阴性结果发表的出版渠道也存在严重限制。
