The Null Hypothesis Initiative

Giving negative results a clearer path into the scientific record.

Turn your null and negative findings into discoverable research. The Null Compass helps you write them up and access microgrant funding from the Null Hypothesis Initiative.

Start the Compass How it works

What is dark data?

Unpublished research creates gaps in what we can learn.

“Dark data” - a term originally used to describe lab notes and experimental findings left untouched in filing cabinets and drawers - includes negative, null, and inconclusive results that never reach journals, preprint servers, or searchable databases. When these findings remain hidden, they can lead to duplicated effort and leave important gaps in the scientific evidence base.1

The Null Compass is a tool of the Null Hypothesis Initiative - a multistakeholder program working to make these results more visible in the fields of clinical medicine and biomedical science. To learn more about the initiative, and the 501(c)(3) Center for Biomedical Research Transparency that hosts the initiative, click here.

Are you sitting on Dark Data?

Start making science better... Today!

Use the Null Compass to get help writing up your research AND qualify for a microgrant!

Start the Compass

  1. Answer some questions

    Answer an adaptive questionnaire about your study design, findings, context, strengths, and limitations of your work. Yes, methodological failures are still important!

  2. Review your reading

    Receive your null research classification, suggested publication pathways, an inspiration "draft" abstract, and receive your Null Compass registration code.

  3. Publish your work

    Submit your work for publication or pre-print, and obtain a DOI for your research. Submit that DOI alongside your Null Compass registration code - and receive your $500 microgrant!*

What will you get?

You will get encouragement!

The Null Compass will organize the information you provide into a starting point for your own review, classify your findings against the negative & null results framework, and give you a gentle nudge in the right direction for potential submission.

Explore the classification framework

Illustrative output structure

Classification   A proposed class based on the information provided

Publication pathways   Potential targets to investigate independently

Draft abstract   A starting draft to check, revise, and substantiate

Reference

Bowers EC, Stephenson J, Furlong M, Ramos KS. Scope and financial impact of unpublished data and unused samples among U.S. academic and government researchers. iScience. 2023;26(7):107166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107166