Resource of the Week #23: New Guidelines for Describing Animal Research

Hello again. This week I learned of a new source of guidance for reporting methods of animal research.

As noted in AuthorAID workshops and elsewhere, journal articles should report research methods in enough detail. Doing so allows readers to evaluate methods, interpret findings, and replicate research. But how much detail is enough?

A new report from the US National Research Council helps answer this question for animal research. The report, titled Guidance for the Description of Animal Research in Scientific Publications, is openly accessible. It is intended for authors, journal editors, and peer reviewers.

The report discusses what types of information to include and why. Among items to include are descriptions of

• the research animals (for example: genus, species, standard genetic nomenclature, sex, age, weight, and source)
• the animals’ environment (for example: diet, water, housing, and bedding)
• the experimental methods (for example: generic and trade name, vendor, dose, and administration route of any drug given)

Do you know of resources on types of information to include when reporting methods of other types of research? If so, I hope you’ll mention them in a comment.

Until the next post— Barbara