When and How to Interpret Null Results in NIBS: A Taxonomy Based on Prior Expectations and Experimental Design
Tom A. de Graaf; Tom A. de Graaf; Alexander T. Sack; Alexander T. Sack · 2018 · Frontiers in Neuroscience
WASTE classifies this as Negative / Null Result Report · AI classification, approximate
The study found no significant effect — useful as a negative control or null benchmark for your own design.
The finding, in one line
“In conventional statistics, a positive result rejects that hypothesis, but a null result is meaningless.”
Abstract
Experiments often challenge the null hypothesis that an intervention, for instance application of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), has no effect on an outcome measure. In conventional statistics, a positive result rejects that hypothesis, but a null result is meaningless. Informally, however, researchers often do find null results meaningful to a greater or lesser extent. We present a model to guide interpretation of null results in NIBS research. Along a “gradient of surprise,” from Replication nulls through Exploration nulls to Hypothesized nulls, null results can be less or more surpr
Abstract by Tom A. de Graaf; Tom A. de Graaf; Alexander T. Sack; Alexander T. Sack, Frontiers in Neuroscience (2018) — licensed CC BY 4.0.
About to run something similar?
Run an AI Precheck on your own design to catch failure modes like this one before you spend the time. Your first desk check is free.
Related failures
Chronic stress induces insulin resistance and enhances cognitive impairment in AD
Negative / Null Result ReportSimilarities (and Differences) in the Learning Patterns of Single-Word Reading of an Alphabetic Orthography in Monolingual and Bilingual Primary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study
Negative / Null Result ReportThe Impact of Acute Aerobic Exercise on General and Food-Related Inhibitory Function Among Young Adults with Obesity: An Event-Related Potential (ERP) Study
Negative / Null Result ReportEffects of simvastatin on white matter integrity in healthy middle‐aged adults
Negative / Null Result ReportRepetitive temporal interference stimulation improves jump performance but not the postural stability in young healthy males: a randomized controlled trial
Negative / Null Result ReportImpact of Rural vs. Urban Residence on Survival Rates of Patients with Glioblastoma: A Tertiary Care Center Experience
WASTE indexes this work — it does not host or republish it. Failure-type classification is automated and approximate.
Metadata source: DOAJ · DOI 10.3389/fnins.2018.00915