Negative research results ‘disappear’ from literature

The proportion of positive results published in journals has risen over the past two decades and could mean that researchers feel under increasing pressure to do research with more predictable findings, a study suggests.

Daniele Fanelli, from the University of Edinburgh, investigated over 4,600 scientific research papers published between 1990 and 2007. He found the proportion of positive research results—which confirm rather than contradict a hypothesis—grew by more than 22 per cent.