articlePerspectives on Psychological ScienceNov 1, 2012Closed access

A Vast Graveyard of Undead Theories

Texas A&M International University · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

PubMed
Indexed incrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Publication bias remains a controversial issue in psychological science. The tendency of psychological science to avoid publishing null results produces a situation that limits the replicability assumption of science, as replication cannot be meaningful without the potential acknowledgment of failed replications. We argue that the field often constructs arguments to block the publication and interpretation of null results and that null results may be further extinguished through questionable researcher practices. Given that science is dependent on the process of falsification, we argue that these problems reduce psychological science's capability to have a proper mechanism for theory falsification, thus…

Citation impact

610
total citations
FWCI
35.96
Percentile
100%
References
66
Citations per year

Authors

2

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Promulgation
  • Null (SQL)
  • Interpretation (philosophy)
  • Replication (statistics)
  • Ideology
  • Psychology
  • Field (mathematics)
  • Psychological science
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Peace, Justice and strong institutions
No related works found for this paper.