Editing 2020: Negative Results

{{comic
| number    = 2020
| date      = July 16, 2018
| title     = Negative Results
| image     = negative_results.png
| titletext = P.S. We're going to the beach this weekend, so I'm attaching my preregistration forms for that trip now, before we find out whether it produces any interesting results.
}}

==Explanation==
Recently, scientists have begun encouraging each other to publish negative results, where a study failed to find the intended effect, as a way of counteracting {{w|publication bias}} (where only interesting positive results get published), which results in false-positive results being published while negative results are not.

Cueball misinterprets the "push to publish negative results" as meaning that he should always attempt to publish the fact that he failed to find evidence of an effect, even when he didn't even try, spending his time playing a video game instead. This plays on the unspoken assumption that scientists would only choose to submit (and journals would only accept) negative results where a study was designed and executed well enough that it should have shown an effect or at least demonstrated evidence of some kind. 

Besides personal preferences, ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}'', the most recent ''Legend of Zelda'' game at the time of publication, was likely chosen for its notable length, Nintendo nerd cred, and a relevance to ''{{w|Nature (journal)|Nature}}'' magazine’s subject. The average time to beat 100% of the content is [https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=38019 over 175 hours].

The title text exaggerates the practice of sending preparation for an experiment to journals before the fact.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk typing on a laptop computer. The following message is displayed above him:]
:Dear ''Nature'' Magazine, 
:I found no evidence sufficient to reject the null hypothesis in any research areas because I spent the whole week playing ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. 
:I'll send you another update next week!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The push to publish negative results seems kinda weird, but I'm happy to go along with it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]