Null Results (active Call for Papers)

Call for Papers: Symposium on Null Results

Null results are important for scientific progress and for policy making. But null results require nuanced consideration to be informative—null results caused by a small sample size or measurement error may hide true (non-zero and substantively meaningful) effects. While the gold standard null result is a highly precise zero, these kinds of null results generally can only be found with extremely large datasets. Fortunately, several methods now exist that can facilitate systematic probing of null results and enhance credibility of null effects even with more standard data. More information about these ways of enhancing credibility of null results can be found in this SSRN working paper: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5397071 , “Making Null Results Credible: An Overview of Design and Analytical Tools,” (Favero et al. 2025).

Symposium guest editors

Paolo Belardinelli
Indiana University

Nathan Favero
American University

Joanna Lahey
Texas A&M University & NBER

Ling Zhu
University of Houston

We welcome null results Public Administration papers, especially those utilizing one or more of the following methodological tools:

  1. Pre-hoc power analysis (for experiments OR non-experimental data, see Cohen, 1992; Baranger et al., 2022; Black et al., 2022)
  2. Pre-registration (for experiments OR non-experimental data, see Belardinelli & Zhu, 2025 or Neumark & Yen, 2021))
  3. Experimental manipulation checks (in conjunction with pre-hoc power analysis tests, see Kane & Barabas, 2018)
  4. Bayesian t-tests/Bayes factors (e.g., Wagenmakers et al., 2018)
  5. TOST procedures or Simulated confidence intervals to rule out large effects (e.g. Lakens, 2017; Rainey, 2014)
  6. Other convincing methodologies not listed above

We welcome new papers, experimental or non-experimental, that use some combination of the above methods and find null results. We also welcome older, unpublished “desk-drawer” papers, which may benefit from use of post hoc methodologies listed above to transform a previously ambiguous null into a convincing null.

Timeline:

Research papers will be evaluated on an ongoing basis, submitted directly to the journal, noting that your submission is for the Null Results symposium. The due date for submitting a research paper for the symposium is July 31, 2026. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us ( jlahey@tamu.edu ) if you would like to know if your research paper is appropriate for the symposium.

Please note that all manuscripts submitted for this symposium will undergo double-blind peer review with final decisions regarding publication being made by JBPA editors and guest editors.

See entire Call for Papers here: Null Results Symposium Call for Papers