Journals
Journals have a crucial role to play in improving the standard of animal research reporting in the scientific literature.
The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 have been designed with implementation by journals and publishers in mind; the items of the guidelines are prioritised into two sets, to allow journals to focus initially on the most pressing issues.
The “ARRIVE essential 10” constitute the minimum requirement for reporting animal research and include information allowing reviewers and readers to assess the reliability of the findings. Focussing on the essential 10 in priority better allows journal staff, editors and reviewers to verify that the items have been adequately reported in manuscripts.
The "recommended set" complements the essential 10 and adds important context to the study described. Items from this set can be added to journal requirements over time and in line with specific editorial policies once mechanisms are in place to ensure adherence with the Essential 10.
The intention of the guidelines is not to supersede individual journal requirements but to promote a harmonised approach across journals to ensure that all manuscripts contain the essential information needed to appraise the research.
How can journals use and promote the ARRIVE guidelines?
Most journals include specific references to the guidelines in their Instructions for Authors, along with a requirement or encouragement to comply with them in any submission involving animal research. For example:
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Authors describing studies involving animals must have consulted the ‘Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments’ (ARRIVE) 2.0 guidelines, developed by the NC3Rs to improve standards of reporting, ensuring that the data from animal experiments can be fully scrutinized and utilized. Articles reporting in vivo experiments must adhere to the ARRIVE Essential 10 checklist as a minimum, and we encourage authors to use the full ARRIVE 2.0 checklist. The relevant information outlined in these guidelines should be included in the appropriate section of the article. |
Journals use a range of strategies to encourage adherence to the ARRIVE guidelines:
- Request that authors submit an ARRIVE checklist - detailing where the information related to each item of the guidelines can be found. This helps editors, journal staff and reviewers identify missing information rapidly. Checklists are available for the ARRIVE essential 10 and for the full ARRIVE 2.0 so that journals can tailor their requirements.
- Editorial checks to ensure manuscripts contain all the information set out in the ARRIVE Essential 10. The IICARUS study has shown that requesting submission of a completed author checklist without verification from journal staff is insufficient to improve adherence to the ARRIVE guidelines. Other studies [1,2,3] using author checklists with more editorial follow-up showed a marked improvement in the detail of the information included in manuscripts.
- Include the ARRIVE guidelines in guidance to reviewers and advise that they are used as an aide-memoire to ensure that all relevant information to scrutinise the research adequately is requested.
