Reporting animal use in scientific papers

Abstract

This paper reports the results of an examination of the 'methods' sections of a range of experimental research papers in biomedical science, focusing on the descriptions of animal use and housing. Detailed descriptions in the methods should enable replication, and also enable readers to judge scientific quality. Relatively few papers sampled gave adequate descriptions of housing conditions and many failed to give details of physiologically relevant variables such as weight of animals. Thirty per cent of papers omitted the number of animals used, and the deaths of animals (whether as part of the protocol, or accidental death) were not always recorded. Adequate reporting of the conditions of animal maintenance and use are important, both in relation to the quality of the science produced, and also because of public concerns about the ethics of animal experiments.