Perhaps my most prominent paper was a null result. If the question is important enough, the work to test it non-trivial, it will find an audience and a likely a

Perhaps my most prominent paper was a null result. If the question is important enough, the work to test it non-trivial, it will find an audience and a likely a reputable journal. What is the value in reporting a null result other than reducing file drawer effects? Well one, even though the null does not tell us whether the effect is absent, it does help suggest bounds on how large an effect could be if it did exist. In my case, a particularly large effects were observed in cross-sectional comparisons (different people at different ages), but our research showed that longitudinal changes within individuals were generally negligible, suggesting systematic bias in the cross-sectional sampling.