Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Questions

Q: What is Nullius in Verba?
A: Nullius in Verba (NiV) is an international, peer-reviewed, Diamond Open Access journal dedicated to publishing negative, null, and failed results across all scientific disciplines. Its name comes from the motto of the Royal Society — nullius in verba, "take nobody's word for it."

Q: What kind of results does NiV publish?
A: NiV publishes methodologically sound research whose results are negative, null, inconclusive, or otherwise "unsuccessful" in the conventional sense. This includes studies that do not find a hypothesized effect, fail to reject the null hypothesis, fail to replicate a previous finding, or fail for methodological reasons.

Q: Is NiV a legitimate journal?
A: Yes. NiV follows COPE guidelines, uses open peer review, is published by AnKa Publisher, and is committed to transparency in its editorial and financial practices. The journal is seeking indexing in DOAJ, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Q: What does "Nullius in Verba" mean?
A: It is Latin for "take nobody's word for it" or, more literally, "no one's words." It is the motto of the Royal Society, adopted in 1660, and expresses the determination to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by experiment rather than by authority.

Q: Why is the journal named after a Latin phrase?
A: The name reflects the journal's core principle: scientific claims must rest on evidence, not authority — and the evidence necessarily includes what did not work. Negative, null, and failed results are part of that evidence.

For Authors

Q: Does NiV charge any fees?
A: No. NiV is Diamond Open Access. There are no submission fees, no article processing charges (APCs), no page charges, no colour charges, and no subscription fees. Neither authors nor readers pay anything.

Q: Who can submit to NiV?
A: Any researcher, anywhere, can submit. NiV welcomes submissions from all career stages, institutions, and geographic regions. There is no membership requirement.

Q: What article types does NiV accept?
A: NiV publishes Full Articles (3,000–8,000 words), Brief Reports (1,000–2,500 words), Failed Replications (2,000–5,000 words), Registered Reports (Stage 1 and Stage 2), Data Notes (1,000–2,000 words), Methodology Failure Reports (1,500–3,000 words), and Commentaries (1,000–2,000 words).

Q: Will my negative result be considered "interesting enough"?
A: NiV does not consider perceived novelty, "impact," or statistical significance as criteria for acceptance. Manuscripts are evaluated on methodological soundness, ethical conduct, clarity of reporting, and contribution to the scientific record. Reviewers are required to state why a negative or null result is scientifically meaningful; rejection on the grounds of "lack of interest" alone is not permitted.

Q: What if my study was poorly designed?
A: NiV does not publish work whose methodology is unsound, regardless of outcome. A negative result from a poorly designed study is not more publishable than a positive result from a poorly designed study. However, if the methodological failure itself is instructive, you may consider submitting a Methodology Failure Report.

Q: Can I submit a study that was pre-registered elsewhere?
A: Yes. NiV welcomes pre-registered studies and offers the Registered Reports format. If your study was pre-registered on another platform (e.g., OSF, ClinicalTrials.gov), please include the registration details in your submission.

Q: What is a Registered Report, and does NiV offer it?
A: Yes. In a Registered Report, the introduction, hypotheses, and methods (Stage 1) are peer reviewed and can receive in-principle acceptance before the results exist. This removes outcome-based bias from the editorial decision entirely, because there is no outcome yet to bias it. If the study is conducted according to the accepted protocol, it is accepted regardless of results.

Q: How long does the review process take?
A: NiV aims for a 48-hour AI-assisted pre-check, followed by peer review typically completed within 4–6 weeks. Post-publication community review remains open for 90 days.

Q: What licence is used for published articles?
A: All articles are published under a CC BY 4.0 licence. Authors retain copyright, and anyone may copy, redistribute, and adapt the work with attribution.

Q: Will my negative result be indexed and citable?
A: Yes. All articles receive a DOI and are archived in permanent repositories. NiV is seeking indexing in DOAJ, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Q: Can I submit a failed replication of my own previously published work?
A: Yes. Failed replications — whether of your own work or others' — are among the most valuable contributions to the scientific record. NiV provides a dedicated home for them.

Q: What if my negative result contradicts a highly cited paper?
A: That is exactly the kind of submission NiV exists to publish. Methodologically sound findings that challenge established results are welcome, provided they meet the journal's standards for rigour and ethical conduct.

Q: Can I submit a study with inconclusive results?
A: Yes. Well-conducted studies whose results are inconclusive but informative are within NiV's scope.

Q: Does NiV accept case reports?
A: NiV accepts case reports when they illustrate a negative, null, or failed outcome with instructive value (e.g., a treatment that did not work, a diagnostic approach that failed). Clinical case reports with negative outcomes are welcome.

Q: Can I submit in a language other than English?
A: The primary language of NiV is English. Multilingual abstracts are encouraged, and the journal supports authors for whom English is an additional language through language-editing partnerships.

For Reviewers

Q: How do I become a reviewer for NiV?
A: You can register through AnKa Publisher's dashboard and select the Reviewer role. Alternatively, you can contact the editorial office directly. Reviewers are welcome from all disciplines and career stages.

Q: Is peer review open or anonymous?
A: NiV practises open peer review. Reviewer identities and full reports are published alongside the article, and author–reviewer dialogue is public.

Q: What criteria do reviewers use?
A: Reviewers assess methodological soundness (30%), scientific significance of the negative/null result (25%), transparency (15%), reproducibility (15%), clarity and presentation (10%), and ethical compliance (5%).

Q: Can I reject a paper because it is not interesting?
A: No. Reviewers are required to state explicitly why a negative or null result is scientifically meaningful. Rejection on the grounds of "lack of interest" alone is not permitted. Rejection must be justified on methodological or ethical grounds.

Q: How long does a review take?
A: NiV aims for reviews to be completed within 4–6 weeks. Reviewers are asked to submit their reports within this timeframe, but extensions can be requested.

Q: Are reviewers paid?
A: No. Like editors and board members, reviewers contribute their expertise as part of their professional service. Their contribution is acknowledged publicly through open peer review.

Q: Can I review for NiV if I am not affiliated with a university?
A: Yes. Reviewers are selected based on expertise, not institutional affiliation. Independent researchers, clinicians, and practitioners are welcome.

For Readers

Q: Is NiV free to read?
A: Yes. NiV is Diamond Open Access. All articles are freely available without subscription, login, or paywall.

Q: Can I reuse content from NiV articles?
A: Yes. Articles are published under CC BY 4.0, which permits copying, redistribution, and adaptation with attribution.

Q: How do I cite NiV articles?
A: Each article has a DOI and a recommended citation format. You can cite NiV articles in the same way as any other peer-reviewed journal article.

Q: Is NiV indexed in major databases?
A: NiV is seeking indexing in DOAJ, Scopus, and Web of Science. Articles are archived in permanent repositories and receive DOIs, making them citable and discoverable.

About Diamond Open Access

Q: What is Diamond Open Access?
A: Diamond Open Access is a publishing model in which neither authors nor readers pay fees. Costs are supported by non-profit, community-driven, or institutional arrangements — such as universities, libraries, public funding agencies, learned societies, and consortia.

Q: How is NiV funded if no one pays?
A: NiV's costs are covered through a combination of publisher infrastructure (AnKa Publisher), voluntary editorial labour, institutional and consortial support, public funding where available, and donations from foundations and open-science organisations.

Q: Is Diamond Open Access sustainable?
A: Yes. Diamond OA journals constitute a majority of open access journals worldwide (approximately 65% of DOAJ-listed journals). The model is mainstream, particularly in South America, Europe, and increasingly in Asia and Africa.

Q: Is Diamond Open Access recognised by funders?
A: Yes. Plan S, UNESCO's Open Science Recommendation, and many national mandates explicitly recognise Diamond Open Access as a compliant and preferred model.

Q: Can my institution support NiV?
A: Yes. Institutions, libraries, and consortia can support NiV through direct contributions, in-kind support, or membership arrangements. Contact the editorial office for details.

About Negative and Null Results

Q: What is a "negative result"?
A: A negative result is a study that does not find the effect, relationship, or difference the researchers hypothesized, despite adequate power and sound methodology to have detected it if it were present.

Q: What is a "null result"?
A: A null result is more specifically a result that fails to reject the null hypothesis at the pre-specified significance threshold. Equivalence and non-inferiority trials are designed around demonstrating a null-type conclusion and are not "negative" in the publication-bias sense.

Q: Why is it worth publishing a negative result?
A: A well-powered, methodologically sound negative or null result prevents other researchers from repeating the same unproductive approach and improves the accuracy of future meta-analyses. The historical barrier has been finding a venue willing to publish it — not the scientific value of the finding itself.

Q: What is the "file drawer problem"?
A: The file drawer problem, named by Rosenthal in 1979, describes the tendency for studies that do not reach significance to be set aside, unsubmitted, rather than published — leaving the visible literature systematically skewed toward positive findings.

Q: What is publication bias?
A: Publication bias is the tendency for statistically significant, novel-looking results to be written up, submitted, and accepted at higher rates than null or negative ones. It inflates apparent effect sizes, distorts meta-analyses, wastes research effort, and erodes trust in the scientific record.

Q: What happened to the journals that used to specialize in negative results?
A: Several closed. New Negatives in Plant Science (Elsevier) and the Journal of Negative Results in BioMedicine (Springer) have both ceased publication, and All Results Journals no longer operates. A few dedicated venues remain active but are narrow in scope. NiV exists to provide a broad-scope, sustainable alternative.

Q: Are Registered Reports the same thing as a negative-results journal?
A: No — a Registered Report is a publication format offered by many journals, not a venue in itself. Its relevance here is structural: because peer review and in-principle acceptance happen before results exist, the outcome cannot bias the editorial decision.

About the Publisher

Q: Who publishes NiV?
A: NiV is published by AnKa Publisher as part of its interdisciplinary, open-access journal portfolio.

Q: What other journals does AnKa Publisher publish?
A: AnKa Publisher's portfolio includes The Journal of NeuroPhilosophy (JNφphi), CognextAI, Mars Settlement, HPlus, Byzantina Nova, Syntheses, Neuropsychiatry Case Reports, and Feline Coronaviruses.

Q: How does NiV fit into AnKa Publisher's portfolio?
A: NiV fills a documented gap: it is the portfolio's dedicated venue for negative, null, and failed results. Its mission complements AnKa's other interdisciplinary and emerging-field journals.

Q: Can I register for NiV through my AnKa Publisher account?
A: Yes. With a single AnKa Publisher account, you can register as an Author, Reviewer, or Editorial Board Member for NiV and other AnKa journals.

Submissions and Process

Q: How do I submit a manuscript to NiV?
A: Submissions are made through AnKa Publisher's online platform. After registering, select the Author role and submit your manuscript to NiV.

Q: What files should I include with my submission?
A: Please include your manuscript, figures, tables, and any supplementary materials. Where possible, include data, code, and protocols. For Registered Reports, include the Stage 1 protocol.

Q: What reporting standards does NiV require?
A: NiV expects authors to follow relevant reporting standards (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA, ARRIVE) where applicable. The AI-assisted pre-check verifies compliance.

Q: What happens after I submit?
A: Your submission undergoes a 48-hour AI-assisted pre-check, followed by open peer review. You will receive reviewer reports and can respond. After acceptance, your article is published with a DOI and enters a 90-day post-publication community review period.

Q: Can I appeal a rejection?
A: Yes. Appeals must be based on methodological or ethical grounds, not on perceived interest or novelty. The editorial office will review the appeal following COPE guidelines.

Q: Can I withdraw my submission?
A: Yes. You may withdraw your submission at any point before publication. Please notify the editorial office in writing.

Ethical and Legal Questions

Q: What ethical standards does NiV follow?
A: NiV adheres to COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. Key policies cover authorship, conflicts of interest, data and code sharing, consent, misconduct, and corrections/retractions.

Q: What licence is used for published articles?
A: All articles are published under CC BY 4.0. Authors retain copyright.

Q: How does NiV handle plagiarism?
A: Every submission undergoes an AI-assisted pre-check for plagiarism and text similarity. Confirmed plagiarism is handled following COPE flowcharts and may result in rejection or retraction.

Q: How does NiV handle conflicts of interest?
A: Full disclosure is required from all authors, reviewers, and editors. Conflicts are published alongside the article where relevant.

Q: What is NiV's policy on AI authorship?
A: AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Their use must be disclosed in the methods or acknowledgements section. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all content.

Q: How does NiV handle data sharing?
A: Data and code sharing is expected. Exceptions must be justified. NiV integrates with repositories such as Zenodo, Figshare, and Dryad.

Q: What happens if misconduct is alleged?
A: Allegations are investigated following COPE flowcharts. Corrections and retractions are published promptly and transparently.

Miscellaneous

Q: How can I contact NiV?
A: You can reach the editorial office at [journal email]. For general inquiries, please use the contact form on the journal website.

Q: How can I stay updated about NiV?
A: Follow NiV on social media (X, LinkedIn, Mastodon), subscribe to the newsletter, and check the website for calls for papers and announcements.

Q: Can I propose a special issue?
A: Yes. NiV welcomes proposals for special issues on themes related to negative, null, and failed results. Please contact the editorial office with a brief proposal.

Q: Can I volunteer as an editor or board member?
A: Yes. NiV welcomes expressions of interest from researchers across disciplines and regions. Please contact the editorial office with your CV and a brief statement of interest.

Q: How can I support NiV?
A: You can support NiV by submitting your work, reviewing for the journal, citing NiV articles, spreading the word, and — for institutions — providing financial or in-kind support.

Q: Where can I find NiV's editorial policies?
A: Full editorial policies are available on the journal website under "Editorial Policies" and in the "About" section.

Nullius in verba — take nobody's word for it.