Replication FailureDecision Sciences
Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science
Science · 2015
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World Archive of Scientific Trial & Error
A searchable archive of experiments that didn't work, hypotheses that didn't survive testing, and results that came back null — knowledge the world cannot afford to lose. Learn what already failed before you repeat it.
“Don't let it be completely wasted. Someone might be enlightened by your thoughts.”
Failure-mode index
Search what already failed — before you repeat it
Learn what didn't work
A searchable index of real negative results, null findings, and replication failures drawn from the published literature across 8 scholarly databases.
21,155
Indexed failures
8
Sources
21,155
Indexed failures
13
Disciplines
8
Submission types
Free
Open access · no reader fees
From the failure-mode index
Real negative results, null findings, and replication failures from the published literature — search before you spend months repeating an experiment that already failed.
Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine
A Randomized Trial of Intraarterial Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke
New England Journal of Medicine · 2014
Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine
Duodenal Infusion of Donor Feces for Recurrent Clostridium difficile
New England Journal of Medicine · 2013
Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine
Stenting versus Endarterectomy for Treatment of Carotid-Artery Stenosis
New England Journal of Medicine · 2010
Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine
Effects of Combination Lipid Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
New England Journal of Medicine · 2010
What We Publish
WASTE accepts eight types of submissions, each representing valuable scientific knowledge that traditional journals often overlook.
FER
Failed Experiment Report
Document experimental approaches that did not succeed, with enough detail to be reusable.
NRR
Negative / Null Result Report
Report interventions or hypotheses that produced no significant effect.
RF
Replication Failure
Document a good-faith attempt to replicate prior work that did not reproduce.
AH
Abandoned Hypothesis
Record a theoretical framework or hypothesis that proved unviable.
MDE
Methods Dead-End
Document a method or design that hit a limitation worth warning others about.
SN
Short Note
A concise report of a definitive failure point or negative observation.
DATA
Null Dataset
Publish a negative-result or null dataset so screening effort is not duplicated.
PROT
Protocol
Share a failed protocol and the troubleshooting that surrounded it.
Browse by discipline
Real negative results, null findings, and replication failures — indexed across every field.
Why WASTE?
Many scientific ideas never become publications because experiments failed, hypotheses were disproven, or results were inconclusive. These outcomes are often discarded.
WASTE treats these results as valuable intellectual artifacts rather than failures. The platform records the hidden majority of research work: attempts, mistakes, revisions, and unexpected outcomes.
Scientific discovery rarely follows a straight path. Many ideas fail before one succeeds. WASTE documents these attempts so the lessons they contain are not lost.
“Don't let it be completely wasted. Someone might be enlightened by your thoughts.”
Core Principles
Discoverable
Every submission is indexed and searchable, transforming hidden knowledge into accessible scientific records.
Citable
Designed so every publication can receive a DOI, making negative results legitimate, citable academic contributions.
Reusable
Structured templates capture failure modes and lessons learned in standardized, reusable formats.
Rigorous
Peer review focuses on methodological quality and documentation completeness, not outcome novelty.
Trackable
Built to track impact through citations, data downloads, and references as the archive grows.
Open Access
All content published under CC BY 4.0 license for maximum accessibility and reuse.
Contribute to Open Science
Don't let it be completely wasted. Someone might be enlightened by your thoughts. Your failed experiments contain knowledge the world cannot afford to lose.
Open Access (CC BY 4.0)|DOIs at publication (planned)|ORCID sign-in (planned)|OAI-PMH indexing (planned)