Center ofTrial & Error.Journal ofTrial & Error.A Blog ofTrial & Error.

June 29, 2025

Cultures of Trial and Error: Hoaxes, Thought Experiments & Science Sleuths: Sniffing Out Ways to Correct the Scientific Record

In August 2024, a peculiar letter to the editor titled “Practice of Neurosurgery on Saturn” was published in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

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Culture of Trial and Error

June 02, 2025

Cultures of Trial and Error: Wissenschaftschmerz

Something is rotten in the state of science.

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Opinion

science

March 30, 2025

Breaking Bubbles: Art and Science in a Fractured World

In an age where trust in science, facts, and authority is rapidly eroding, art may offer a surprising way forward.

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Culture of Trial and Error

March 25, 2025

Cultures of Trial and Error: Replication in Social Psychology

Cultures of Trial and Error: Replication in Social Psychology (by Maarten Derksen)

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Culture of Trial and Error

February 27, 2025

Cultures of Trial and Error: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers in Science Correction

A JOTE x NanoBubbles blog post series, with guest editors Melpomeni (Melina) Antonakaki, Candida F. Sánchez Burmester, Mady Barbeitas.

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News

January 30, 2025

Video: Professor Peter Bergeijk's 'On the inaccuracies of economic observations'

Video: Professor Peter Bergeijk's On the inaccuracies of economic observations

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Opinion

October 29, 2024

Let’s Focus on Learning From Mistakes Not on Avoiding Mistakes

Do we truly want to focus so much on eradicating mistakes, and are we trying to train a generation of reliable ‘robots’?

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Behind the Scenes

August 04, 2024

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Stefan Gaillard: “I Believe That Positive Publication Bias is Actively Harming Science”

What were the views and ideals of JOTE's co-founders, and how did they differ from each other? In this post, we ask it Stefan Gaillard.

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Behind the Scenes

July 29, 2024

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Martijn van der Meer. “My Interests Became More Political. I Wanted to Contribute to a Mission-Driven Model of Scientific Publishing”

What were the views and ideals of JOTE's co-founders, and how did they differ from each other? In this post, we ask it Martijn van der Meer.

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Behind the Scenes

July 22, 2024

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Max Bautista Perpinyà. “I Don’t Think Forbes Has Any Legitimacy in Acknowledging Scientific Success.”

What were the views and ideals of JOTE's co-founders, and how did they differ from each other? In this post, we ask it Max Bautista Perpinyà.

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Interview

April 01, 2024

JOTE in Conversation: Leo Tiokhin - “Criticism in Science Should be Rewarded”

We present to you the fourth instalment of our “JOTE in conversation” series, where we ask Leo Tiokhin about Red Team Market and his career.

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News

March 17, 2024

JOTE Has a New Publishing Format: Registered Reports

We will welcome submissions for registered reports (RRs)! We see moves to publishing RRs as part of a broader, cultural move in academia towards more rigorous and transparent research.

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Interview

January 04, 2024

JOTE in Conversation: Michael Burke. "Why are publishing companies getting paid for our peer review?"

Professor of rhetoric at Utrecht University Michael Burke talks about failure and academic publishing. "Why are publishing companies getting paid for our peer review?"

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Behind the Scenes

October 09, 2023

National Science Communication Day: JOTE Presents on Values in Science

Yesterday, Stefan Gaillard (JOTE, DNUS), Megan Milota (UMCU, DNUS), Robert Dasović and Marcel Hobma organized a workshop on values in science, for the annual Dutch conference on Science Communication.

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Opinion

October 06, 2023

Sex Differences and Clinical Research: a Reflection on Communicating About Values in Science

Philosophers teach us that science is drenched in values, but what does this mean for science communication? Editor Marcel reflects on what values mean for his earlier work on clinical trials.

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Opinion

April 26, 2023

Evaluative Measures or Game-Able Targets? Academic Competition Can Turn Even Qualitative Measures into Targets for Researchers

Although the global switch from quantitative to qualitative evaluation measures is certainly necessary, without lowering academic competition they too might become game-able targets.

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Opinion

February 27, 2023

How 'Recognition and Rewards' in Dutch Academia Turned Metrics into Incentives

In recent attempts to reform research assesment, metrics have explicitly become “incentives”. Yet, the Dutch debate about this transition focussed on the wrong elements.

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Opinion

December 02, 2022

Not All That Shines Is Diamond: Why Open Access Publication Favors Rich Authors, Prestigious Universities and Industry-Funded Research

More and more researchers pay processing costs for publishing in Open Access, but these costs disadvantage authors who are female, early in their career or, from low-income countries.

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Opinion

October 28, 2022

Can Direct Replications Save Psychology From Its Conceptual and Measurement Issues?

Science reformers suggest direct replications as a solution to the replication crisis, but they might not be able to deal with the conceptual and measurement issues that underlie the crisis.

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Interview

October 21, 2022

Music and Mistakes: An Interview with Two Music Therapists on When Things Go Wrong

Mistakes are quite common in music therapy, yet rarely discussed. The book Breaking Strings: Explorations of Mistakes in Music Therapy and this interview are an attempt to remedy that.

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Opinion

September 10, 2021

Who Is to Blame When We Fly Too Close to the Sun – Academia or the Individual?

We should beware of using Ariely and others as scapegoats. Rather than dwelling on the moral failings of individual researchers, we might reframe fraud and misconduct as a systemic problem.

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Interview

open science

May 31, 2020

JOTE in Conversation: Daniël Lakens. Whose Fault Is it That Science is Irreproducible? And Who the Heck Are Metascientists?

So if you ask, ‘who’s responsible?’ The truth is that everybody’s pointing but nobody is doing anything.

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Opinion

psychology

March 25, 2020

The Four Horsemen of the Crisis in Psychological Science

Psychological science is in a crisis, and has been for quite some time.

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Interview

March 05, 2020

JOTE in Conversation: Léa Roumazeilles. How Does Failure Arise and How Do You Deal With It?

We talked with Léa Roumazeilles, PhD candidate in Neurobiology at Oxford University. We spoke with her about her thesis subject: ‘Structure and function of the social brain in primates’.

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Behind the Scenes

open science

February 21, 2020

Open Science Symposium Utrecht – Starting off with the Natural Sciences

On February 6, the Open Science Community Utrecht (OSCU) organized a symposium on Open Science at the Faculty of Science of Utrecht University.

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Center ofTrial & Error.Journal ofTrial & Error.A Blog ofTrial & Error.

Cultures of Trial and Error: Hoaxes, Thought Experiments & Science Sleuths: Sniffing Out Ways to Correct the Scientific Record

Cultures of Trial and Error: Wissenschaftschmerz

Breaking Bubbles: Art and Science in a Fractured World

Cultures of Trial and Error: Replication in Social Psychology

Cultures of Trial and Error: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers in Science Correction

Video: Professor Peter Bergeijk's 'On the inaccuracies of economic observations'

Let’s Focus on Learning From Mistakes Not on Avoiding Mistakes

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Stefan Gaillard: “I Believe That Positive Publication Bias is Actively Harming Science”

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Martijn van der Meer. “My Interests Became More Political. I Wanted to Contribute to a Mission-Driven Model of Scientific Publishing”

Founding JOTE: A Conversation with Max Bautista Perpinyà. “I Don’t Think Forbes Has Any Legitimacy in Acknowledging Scientific Success.”

JOTE in Conversation: Leo Tiokhin - “Criticism in Science Should be Rewarded”

JOTE Has a New Publishing Format: Registered Reports

JOTE in Conversation: Michael Burke. "Why are publishing companies getting paid for our peer review?"

National Science Communication Day: JOTE Presents on Values in Science

Sex Differences and Clinical Research: a Reflection on Communicating About Values in Science

Evaluative Measures or Game-Able Targets? Academic Competition Can Turn Even Qualitative Measures into Targets for Researchers

How 'Recognition and Rewards' in Dutch Academia Turned Metrics into Incentives

Not All That Shines Is Diamond: Why Open Access Publication Favors Rich Authors, Prestigious Universities and Industry-Funded Research

Can Direct Replications Save Psychology From Its Conceptual and Measurement Issues?

Music and Mistakes: An Interview with Two Music Therapists on When Things Go Wrong

Who Is to Blame When We Fly Too Close to the Sun – Academia or the Individual?

JOTE in Conversation: Daniël Lakens. Whose Fault Is it That Science is Irreproducible? And Who the Heck Are Metascientists?

The Four Horsemen of the Crisis in Psychological Science

JOTE in Conversation: Léa Roumazeilles. How Does Failure Arise and How Do You Deal With It?

Open Science Symposium Utrecht – Starting off with the Natural Sciences

Subscribe to our
newsletter!