Our ARRIVE training resources page provides scientists with new ways to understand and implement best practice in the reporting of animal research, including the newly developed ARRIVE manuscript review exercises.
What is the ARRIVE manuscript review?
The ARRIVE manuscript review exercises will help you to critically evaluate the quality of reporting in preclinical animal research. Each exercise involves reading and analysing an open access animal research paper and answering questions on the quality of reporting in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines. The articles include various in vivo models, from mice to zebrafish embryos, and cover a range of scientific fields – but no prior knowledge of the topic is assumed or required. You will assess manuscripts purely on how experiments are reported, allowing you apply your learning to all future literature reviews. These exercises will test your understanding of what constitutes high-quality reporting of in vivo research and provide additional feedback to help you consider the implications of current reporting practices on reliability and reproducibility of the science.
Why have we created the ARRIVE manuscript review?
Critical analysis of the literature is a fundamental skill for scientists. Whether you are reading about a new discovery, performing a literature review or taking part in the peer review process, it is essential to make an informed judgement on the reliability of the experiments presented. Transparent reporting is key to allow the scientific community to effectively assess the rigour and reliability of research, and the ARRIVE compliance questionnaire offers a systematic approach to assessing transparency of animal studies. Building on this, we have created the ARRIVE manuscript review as an educational resource to help scientists analyse and discuss how omissions in the methods of published animal research impact the reliability of the findings.
The ARRIVE manuscript review is designed for scientists at all levels who want to learn, sharpen and master critical appraisal of literature. Visit the ARRIVE training resources page for access to all training content.
What other resources are helpful for me?
- The ARRIVE compliance questionnaire is a checklist for identifying transparent reporting in any animal research article. This tool allows you to apply what you have learned from the ARRIVE manuscript review to a research article of your choice, focusing on a particular field of interest.
- ARRIVE Z-cards serve as a desk-side reminder of all 21 items of the ARRIVE guidelines. They are available for free and can be shared with colleagues and students alike.
- Transparent reporting and rigorous experimental design are two sides of the coin for reproducible in vivo research that uses the fewest number of animals to generate reliable results. If you are looking for experimental design support, our Experimental Design Assistant (EDA) tool and website has a wealth of information and resources.