As reported in Nature, two leading ecologists are calling on their colleagues to publish negative study results. Richard Hobbs, a plant biologist and the editor-in-chief of the journal Restoration Ecology, explained to Nature:
The subject of what constitutes 'success' in restoration has been actively debated over the last few years, but it is only recently that a few people have discussed the merit of examining 'failure' as well.
To that end, Hobbs has just added a new section in Restoration Ecology called "Set-backs and Surprises." As discussed in the Nature article, a similar plea to shine a light on failures was made by ecologist Andrew Knight, in a recent letter to the journal Conservation Biology:
The lack of publication is a massive problem in conservation. Firstly, it reflects the fact that the vast majority of researchers are focused on publishing papers as opposed to 'doing' conservation. Secondly, as a result ...
