Journal of Trial and Error, Utrecht (2025)

20/06/2025

Call for contributions on Open Education:

Education reform is a slow process, where change is constantly at odds with tradition. Even in fundamentally new movements such as Open Education, innovation can be as difficult as it is important.

Fundamental to Open Education is the focus on increases accessibility and openness of knowledge, material and methods. This leads to a constantly-evolving educational environment, adapting to new ideas and recent evidence.

A special issue of the Journal of Trial and Error is in the works, and we are still accepting contributions from researchers! Developed in collaboration with The New Utrecht School, this special issue is focused on open education as an evolving, trial-and-error based process.

Do you have insights, works or research that would fit this special issue? Or do you know anyone that does? Read more and submit it via https://journal.trialanderror.org/pub/call-failure-open-education/release/1

13/06/2025

Nominations for the 2025 Trial and Error award are closing soon!

Research that disproves a hypothesis, articles on a medical trial that failed, results of an experiment that ran into unforeseen problems: These are sometimes seen as examples of ‘failed’ scientific endeavours, yet they lead to more robust scientific knowledge, and can contain valuable information and lessons.

To emphasize the importance of these less popular articles, the Trial and Error award was conceived, and nominations are still open for the 2025 Trial and Error Award! In collaboration with the Museum of Failure, Utrecht Young Academy, and Young Academy Twente, the Award will be handed out to one of the nominated works, during the T&E Symposium on October 7th.

Nominate now, before June 30th! https://trialanderror.org/awards-2025-form

13/06/2025

Can art provide something science cannot? While art and science are sometimes seen as opposite and disconnected fields, research suggests that there is value in combining them, and that they complement each other.

A six-month project in The Netherlands followed three artistic researchers during a residency in an elderly care institution. By immersing themselves in the environment and using various methods, their final goal was to create artworks that offer insight and reflection into the institution. This would serve to better connect the residents, their families, and their caretakers, in the complicated transition to living in a care institution.

While the final artworks were somewhat successful in sparking dialogue and interconnection, the project ran into various unexpected challenges that diminished the potential impact. Instead of declaring the project unsuccessful, the authors published this article, with detailed reflection on the challenges and suggestions on how to deal with them. Ultimately, similar projects can draw valuable lessons from this.

Read the full article here: https://journal.trialanderror.org/pub/function-art/release/1

12/06/2025

Save the date for the very first Trial and Error symposium!

On October 7th, the first Trial and Error symposium will be held in the Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht! On the schedule for the day are presentations, interactive workshops, a small exhibition, and the award ceremony for the 2nd Annual Trial and Error Award!

The Award was conceived to celebrate the less-glamorous but equally-important aspects of science. ‘Failed’ research, null results, research design flaws that can serve as valuable lessons, and so on. Working with the Museum of Failure, Utrecht Young Academy, and Young Academy Twente, the Award serves so showcase research that might seem unimportant or even trivial, and to recognize its value in the journey to scientific advancement.

We hope you will join us on October 7th!

06/06/2025

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT

Is peer review necessary, or is it delaying discoveries? Pre-publication peer review is a widespread practice in scientific publishing and is widely considered to be a crucial part of research. However it is certainly not without flaws, and we have published various articles highlighting issues of the current peer review climate.

In order to accelerate scientific progress during the COVID-19 pandemic, non-peer-reviewed research was published on pre-print servers. Studies were thus accessible earlier, before peer review was completed, so that the information could be used in further research or by professionals.

A new perspective emerged for some researchers after reviewing medical papers published during the pandemic, and they found that the widespread use of these preprint servers did more harm than good. They could not measure the theoretical acceleration of progress, while the impact on quality and accuracy appears evident. In some cases, the lack of peer review may have even led to dangerously inaccurate advice, such as one preprint study that suggested the use of Ivermectin to fight COVID.

How do you feel about preprint servers? Have you used them to read or publish research? Leave your thoughts on preprints and peer review below!

Read the full study here: https://journal.trialanderror.org/pub/preprinting-responsibility/release/1

30/05/2025

ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT:

How to develop a clinical trial for a novel medical technique? Such a task is not straightforward, and failure can loom behind every corner. The recent PENTACON trial is an example of such a failed trial. But because the authors published their results anyway, it can now act as a cautionary tale to others who are designing trials, and ultimately lead to better trials.

The PENTACON trial set out to compare two techniques for corneal transplantation: DALK, an older but somewhat risky technique, was compared to PET, a more recent technique that was believed to be safer and to lead to more predictable outcomes. The trial ran for four years before being cancelled, and 13 total patients were included in the data.

The small sample size ultimately led to the cancellation of the trial, in combination with other considerations. For example: during the timespan of the trial new alterations to the techniques were considered, but could not be adopted into the trial because that would harm the consistency of the result. As a result the studied techniques were considered inferior by clinicians, and patients were rejected from participation for ethical reasons.

Reflection on the trial highlights the importance of adaptability in medical trials, the requirement of a large enough pool of patients for the trial, difficulties of trials spread over multiple surgical centers, among other lessons.

The full results can be found here: https://journal.trialanderror.org/pub/pentacon-results

And a reflection on the study by the primary author is here: https://journal.trialanderror.org/pub/pentacon-reflection

26/05/2025

Save the date for the very first Trial and Error symposium!

On October 7th, the Center of Trial and Error is hosting its first symposium! In addition to workshops, presentations and an exposition, we will hand out the 2nd Annual Trial and Error Award!

The scientific method is based on accepting and rejecting hypotheses, yet research with non-positive results is often not valued. With the Award, we aim to change this. Have you recently published an article on failure in science, or on a negative/null result? Or know someone who did? Then nominate this work! Deadline: June 30th.

The winning article will be drawn from the pool of eligible submissions at the Symposium on October 7th. The Trial and Error Award and the Symposium are organized in collaboration with Museum of Failure, Utrecht Young Academy, and Young Academy Twente. With this, we aim to highlight the aspects of research that are considered ‘failures’, but that are in fact important parts of scientific advancement.

Hope to see you there, on October 7th!

Nominations can be submitted here:
https://trialanderror.org/awards-2025-form

02/05/2025

JOTE's publishing work manifests itself in real life!

The University in Transition, a book written by the rectorate of Utrecht University and published (OA) by JOTE, is featured in a new mural on the Utrecht Science Park!

Utrecht-based artist JanIsDeMan recently completed this mural, which depicts a large, colourful bookcase with books chosen by students. If you happen to be in Utrecht, you can find it on the south side of the Sjoerd Groenman building!

29/04/2025

JOTE presents at the EGU in Vienna today!

Today, co-founder of JOTE Stefan Gaillard will present about the importance of publishing failed studies in the European Geosciences Union general assembly in Vienna. If you’re there, say hi to him! (Session EOS4.8)

22/04/2025

Did you—or a colleague—arrive at a negative or null result in your research? But still take the time and effort to publish it anyway?

Then this is your moment: nominate that work for the 2nd Annual Trial and Error Award!

At the Journal of Trial and Error, we believe that scientific failures deserve recognition—because they’re not dead ends, but vital parts of the research process. That’s why we’re once again recognizing the value of failure and honest science by means of an award! Organized together with the Museum of Failure, Utrecht Young Academy and Young Academy Twente.

Any article published between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025 that discusses failure, a null or negative result, or research that didn’t go as planned is eligible.

The winning article will be drawn at random during the Trial and Error Symposium on October 7, 2025—because if we’re honoring failure, chance gets a seat at the table too.

So whether it’s your own work or that of a colleague: Let’s challenge the narrative that only success deserves recognition. Nominate a paper today and help shine a light on the full story of how science works.

Submit your nomination here (until June 30th): https://trialanderror.org/awards-2025-form

07/04/2025

Misinformation is spreading and trust in authorities and science is deteriorating. Could art help?

What if the solution to mistrust isn’t *just* more data, but a new way of seeing? This is the central question of Professor of Economics Peter van Bergeijk's recent blog post, called Art and Science in a Fractured World.

Historically, art and science have been viewed as opposites—one precise and objective, the other ambiguous and emotional. Yet both rely on observation, curiosity, and interpretation. From Leonardo da Vinci to modern interdisciplinary collaborations, creativity has played a crucial role in expanding our understanding of the world.

In our latest blog post, van Bergeijk explores how art can teach us observation and interpretation, and in doing so, offer us fresh perspectives and counteract ideological bubbles. Could embracing artistic ways of seeing be the key to restore harmony in a world where science and facts are under siege?

Read it here: https://blog.trialanderror.org/breaking-bubbles-art-and-science-in-a-fractured-world

26/03/2025

The Replication Crisis in Social Psychology: A Turning Point?

In this first blog post of our Cultures of Trial and Error series, Maarten Derksen explores how social psychology has been grappling with the replication crisis.

Many landmark studies have failed to reproduce their original results, raising pressing questions: Are there structural problems in the field, where flashy findings are prioritized over robust science? Does social behavior change too much over time to expect stable findings? Or are we simply misunderstanding what replication should mean in this context?

While no single replication is decisive, the crisis has transformed the discipline. It has spurred methodological reforms, challenged long-standing theories, and encouraged critical reflection on how psychological knowledge is produced. Replication is not just about verifying results—it forces scientists to reflect on their own practices. What details truly matter in an experiment? What role do tacit skills play? And ultimately, how should social psychology evolve in response to its own instability?

Read more in Maarten Derksen’s article on the crisis, here: https://blog.trialanderror.org/replication-in-social-psychology

Journal of Trial and Error

20/06/2025

13/06/2025

13/06/2025

12/06/2025

06/06/2025

30/05/2025

26/05/2025

02/05/2025

29/04/2025

22/04/2025

07/04/2025

26/03/2025

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