Journal of Trial and Error

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/genotyped-…

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 within the university systems. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed. These conversations matter.

Funded within the framework of the EOSC GRAVITY project under grant agreement No 101188045.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Our vision at the Journal of Trial & Error is to create a structured, reusable format for unrealized research, including rejected grant applications, abandoned manuscripts, and long-term “retirement reflection” white papers, through GRAIL. Please see more in the comments below.

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. trialanderror.org/lustrum-ex-aca…

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.

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-aca…

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

Have you ever searched for the latest Hollywood movie on an academic research platform? No? Well, someone did put it there. A new article investigates how platforms like the Open Science Framework have been exploited for piracy, phishing, and other scams. journal.trialanderror.org/pub/platform-p…

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/c27d9a5c8-30f3…

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-sce…

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/statistica…

Are we measuring political polarization wrong? In 60% of studies on affective polarization, 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/polyvariat…

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-triala….

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-triala….

Last week, our Co-Founder, Stefan Gaillard, gave a talk discussing how many researchers don't do perfect science. You can see more details here: sg.uu.nl/en and on the event, including a stream recording (in Dutch) here: sg.uu.nl/video/2026/02/….

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 - trialanderror.org/failurestoryfe….

Werk je in de publieke sector en wil je graag het festival bijwonen? Dat kan. Schrijf je in via deze link: trialanderror.org/failurestoryfe…. 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-aca…