Center of Trial and Error

On October 14th, our Journal of Trial and Error colleagues Florencia and Stefan attended F*ck Up Night at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where they participated in a panel discussion on research waste. Thank you to the organisers for creating space for these important conversations!

Our project charter is now complete and has passed the final revisions stage. We are now preparing our use case presentation and the academy matrix documentation, including our contribution to the existing EOSC infrastructure for the November deadline and preparation for next steps.

Ongoing Call for Anecdotes: Serendipity in Scientific Practice! Have you ever stumbled upon an unexpected discovery while conducting research? Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, with no publication fees. Read how to submit your story here: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/call-ser...

Reminder: Submissions are open year-round! We believe that all research experiences can contribute to valuable knowledge exchange and help avoid research waste in the scientific community. Find out more about our submission guidelines and article types here: journal.trialanderror.org/for-authors.

Happy International Day of Failure! Today we invite researchers to celebrate the messy side of science: What failed? What did you learn from it? And what might someone else learn if you shared it? Here’s to making room in science for trial, error, and everything in between!

Throwback to our newest editor Florencia Abinzano at the Dutch Osteoarthritis Day, where people agreed that failed experiments teach you something. Next up: F*ck Up Night at TU/e on 14 October, with editors Stefan Gaillard and Florencia as guest speakers. More info: www.tue.nl/en/our-unive...

Thank you to everyone who visited our “Mission Impossible” booth during the Betweter Festival last Friday! We remain committed to engaging our community and fostering open dialogue about the crucial part failure plays in education. Know of an opportunity? Send us an email at info@trialanderror.org.

We’re looking for another new Editor to join the Journal of Trial and Error! We are seeking a team member for this volunteer and fully-remote position. If you have any questions or to submit your CV and a motivation letter, please email us at positions@trialanderror.org.

We’re looking for another new Editor to join the Journal of Trial and Error! We are seeking a team member for this volunteer and fully remote position. If you have any questions or to submit your CV and a motivation letter, please email us at positions@trialanderror.org.

It’s time for the annual Trial & Error Award! We are still accepting submissions until August 31st. The Trial & Error Award celebrates and offers recognition to those who rethink how science and academia view failure. We hope you can include your failure here: trialanderror.org/awards-2026-....

The Journal of Trial and Error will be at Betweter Festival on Friday, September 25! Come find Muriel Strange representing the Journal of Trial and Error and colleagues from De Nieuwe Utrechtse School at our booth: “Mission Impossible.” We hope to see you at TivoliVredenburg!

Scientific papers don't just present evidence. They also make an argument about what that evidence means and why we should believe it. In this new article, the authors explore how persuasion operates in scientific writing. Read the full article here: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/article-...

What does it mean when another researcher tries to reproduce your computational results and gets different numbers? Read the full article here: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/reproduc...

For our city tour on trial and error, we are looking for stories about things at, around, or originating from Utrecht Science Park that did not go as planned, and what came from them. Do you have such a story, or do you know someone who does? Please let us know via gaillard@trialanderror.org.

As a part of our ongoing Grant Reuse and Abandoned Ideas Library (GRAIL) project funded under EOSC GRAVITY, the research team at the Journal of Trial and Error has been working diligently on the recent project plan. We are excited to move forward and share the approval of our plan.

It’s that special time of the year again! Submissions for the 3rd Annual Trial & Error Award are now open until August 31st. We hope you can contribute to the future of science and take the initiative to include your failure here: trialanderror.org/awards-2026-....

What does it cost science when negative results go unpublished? Our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sarahanne Field joins the Lab Coats & Life Podcast to dig into that question. www.labcoatsandlifepodcast.com/s3e4-the-cos...

The second Trial and Error City Tour through Utrecht is a wrap! Thanks to everyone who joined, and to our collaborators Utrecht Time Machine and De Nieuwe Utrechtse School. Missed it? Explore the route digitally: utrechttimemachine.nl/routes/trial...

Met trots presenteert het Journal of Trial & Error, Stefan Gaillard, en Thomas Camminga de aftermovie van de Failure88. We hebben verwerkt in deze geanonimiseerde aftermovie: lnkd.in/ekFXREeT. Vragen over de Failure88? Neem contact op met gaillard@trialanderror.org.

A termite problem at a researcher's mother's house in Florida accidentally led cell biologist Sidney L. Tamm to three major discoveries about how cells work. Sometimes science starts in the most unexpected places. Read the article here: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/cell-mot...

An inspiring evening at the Failure88 where we had a chance to celebrate and talk about failure, learning, and performance pressure in healthcare and research. Congratulations to all winners and participants!

New in the Cultures of Trial and Error series: “How nanomedicine conjured billions from thin air" How did the EPR Effect organise billions in funding despite weak evidence - and why did market collapse succeed where scientific self-correction struggled? blog.trialanderror.org/cultures-of-...

Can livestock genetics be made faster without losing prediction accuracy? This new paper by Mohammad Ali Nilforooshan explores how to shrink a massive genomic evaluation model into a smaller one and why the math gets messy when you try. Read more here: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/genotype...

Last week, the Journal of Trial & Error hosted Ex-Academia: an open dialogue bringing together people who have left academia to reflect on their experiences alongside those who remain within the university system. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed. These conversations matter.

Will you be joining us tomorrow at 20:00? We will explore what lessons the university can learn to improve science and higher education, and how these insights might help make academia more sustainable and appealing to the next generation. Register here: trialanderror.org/lustrum-ex-a...

We brought the Journal of Trial and Error to NWO ICT.OPEN and NWO NAC over the past two weeks. Great conversations on negative results, failed approaches, and what we usually don’t publish but should.

A big thank you to everyone who joined the Trial and Error City Tour on March 31st! Organised together with Utrecht Time Machine and De Nieuwe Utrechtse School, and part of the Lustrum of Utrecht University. Want to explore the route digitally? utrechttimemachine.nl/routes/trial...

Have you worked in academia for at least one year, and would you like to reflect on your experiences with others who have since left? Join our event on May 7, from 20:00, at Utrecht University Library City Center. Register for the event here: trialanderror.org/lustrum-ex-a...

Studenten binnen gezondheidszorg opgelet (geneeskunde, mbo/hbo Verpleegkunde, en andere opleidingen binnen gezondheidszorg)! Inschrijven kan via deze link: trialanderror.org/lustrum-fail...

Is reproducible research an achievable goal and what does it take to get there? In this latest article Horbach et al. asked publishers, funders, and researchers what they see as the biggest barriers and enablers. Read more: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/barriers...

Have you ever searched for the latest Hollywood movie on an academic research platform? Probably not, but someone did put it there. A new article investigates how platforms like the OSF have been exploited for piracy, phishing, and other scams. Read more: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/platform...

Are preprints doing more harm than good? Do editors actually check preregistrations? And are the statistical methods we rely on trustworthy? Volume 6, Issue 1 tackles these questions and more. Read it here: assets.pubpub.org/c27d9a5c8-30...

How do you start a Diamond Open Access journal? Muriel Strange breaks it down in our latest blog - funding, DOIs, infrastructure, and more. No paywalls, no fees, fully open. Check it out: blog.trialanderror.org/behind-the-s...

If a study is underpowered, can we trust its findings? A new study by Léonard and Tirelli finds that statistical power in nicotine conditioned place preference research is critically low and effect sizes are likely inflated. Read more: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/statisti...

Are we measuring political polarization wrong? In 60% of affective polarization studies, researchers use difference scores - a method with serious conceptual and statistical problems. Lukas K. Sotola reviews the issues and offers a better approach: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/polyvari...

On the afternoon of March 31st, the Journal of Trial and Error, in collaboration with Utrecht Time Machine, organizes the Trial and Error City Tour. During this guided walk, you will hear stories about what went wrong in the city’s past. Sign up here: trialanderror.org/lustrum-tria....

In de middag van 31 maart organiseert het Journal of Trial and Error in samenwerking met Utrecht Time Machine de Trial and Error City Tour. Ben je benieuwd hoe Utrecht met vallen en opstaan is ontstaan? Geef je op via deze link: trialanderror.org/lustrum-tria....

Last week, our Co-Founder, Stefan Gaillard, gave a talk in the UU Academy Building discussing how many researchers don't do perfect science. You can see more details here: www.sg.uu.nl/en and on the event, including a stream recording (in Dutch) here: www.sg.uu.nl/video/2026/0....

Wij nodigen ambtenaren, bestuurders, beleidsmakers en andere betrokkenen uit om faalverhalen te delen. Wil je jouw verhaal delen dan nodigen uit dit in te sturen voor het Failure Story Festival op 17 april bij Bibliotheek Neude. Stuur jouw faalverhaal hier - trialanderror.org/failurestory....

Werk je in de publieke sector en wil je graag het festival bijwonen? Dat kan. Schrijf je in via deze link: trialanderror.org/failurestory.... Het festival is gratis en er is een beperkte beschikbaarheid van tickets.

Have you worked in an academic setting for at least one year? Would you like to reflect on your experiences with others who have since left? Join our event on May 7, from 20:00, at Utrecht University Library City Center. Register here: trialanderror.org/lustrum-ex-a...

📣 We are happy to announce the special issue “Scientific bubbles: definitions, context, and approaches” in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science with guest editors from Nanobubbles. ⏰ Deadline: 15th of July 2026! 🔗 More information in www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

As a diamond open-access journal, our work is free for everyone, but it’s only possible with your support! If you believe in the importance of open science (and learning from errors), please consider donating this Christmas. 🎁 Donate here: trialanderror.org/donate 🎁 Thank you for your support!

Is it time for a revolution in medicine? The drive to reduce ‘waste’ in health research has dominated the research cycle for decades. This special issue of the Journal of Trial and Error focuses on rethinking ‘failure’, and its role in scientific progress: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/embracin...

How does attention shape addiction? The new research reflection published in the Journal of Trial and Error suggests it might not be as straightforward as once thought; it’s a dynamic, context-dependent process. If you are interested, see the article: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/attentio....

Is the foundation of science crumbling? Researchers from Radboud found a lot of articles claiming to reduce brain damage. But on closer inspection, many papers in the field have suspicious errors, caused by a lack of self-correction. Read the paper here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Does breaking protocol lead to new discoveries? A student researching electricity generation from wood did exactly that. Through a clever analogy, and the courage to challenge models, the student discovered the Popcorn effect. Reflections on the event: journal.trialanderror.org/pub/popcorn-...