REPORTING ANIMAL USE IN SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

This paper reports the results of an examination of the 'methods' sect ions of a range of experimental research papers in biomedical science, focusing on the descriptions of animal use and housing. Detailed desc riptions in the methods should enable replication, and also enable rea ders to judge scientific quality. Relatively few papers sampled gave a dequate descriptions of housing conditions and many failed to give det ails 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 dea th) were not always recorded. Adequate reporting of the conditions of animal maintenance and use are important, both in relation to the qual ity of the science produced, and also because of public concerns about the ethics of animal experiments.