Publication bias: why publish negative results?

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to bring the discussion about the publication of negative results to the field of librarianship and information science, specifically for the area of scientific communication. The paper presents the problem of publication bias in science, as well as its origins, highlighting the importance of the publication of negative results, pointing out those responsible for not publishing such results, as well as the main strategies for reducing publication bias and examples of application of some of these strategies. The article concludes that there is no single path but a series of solutions that can allow negative results to be available to the scientific community, thus reducing publication bias and giving visibility to all research results, whether positive or negative.

Keywords:
Negative results; publication bias; publication of negative results; visibility of science