Yes, You Can't! A Multi‐Method Examination of Publishing Null Findings in Sociological Research

Bias against null findings is widespread in scientific fields, including sociology. While scholars see null findings as valuable to the scientific endeavor, this bias has a chilling effect on the publication process and the way graduate students learn to think about the possibilities of their research. Although quantitative studies have examined the extent of bias across fields, the ways in which scientists and graduate students construct and navigate this bias in their own work remains understudied. In this paper, we use data collected from 62 sociology faculty and 205 graduate students enrolled in sociology PhD programs to examine how the bias against null findings in sociology journals is integrated into the research perspectives and experiences of these populations. Our graduate student data suggest that the “file drawer problem” is reproduced by a cultural bias against null findings that is learned through graduate training. Responses from faculty included a range of meaningful strategies for framing and pursuing null findings in sociological research that could help to someday close the “file drawer.”