The APS Publications Committee has updated requirements for reporting studies involving animals in light of two recent reports. Given the length and detail already contained in the Instructions for Authors submitting manuscripts to APS journals, the Committee opted for a broad statement about what the methods section of a paper should convey. That is to say, readers should be able to evaluate the quality of the data presented, replicate the experiments if needed, and determine what steps were taken to mitigate the animals’ potential pain and distress. Links to the two reports, Guidance for the Description of Animal Research in Scientific Publications (Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, National Academy of Sciences) and Animals in Research, In Vivo Experiments or ARRIVE (U.K. National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research), are provided to help authors determine what items are relevant to a particular study.
The pertinent section of the journal instructions for authors may be found at Guiding Principles for Research Involving Animals and Human Beings. The revised section is the second paragraph, below:
The research described in papers submitted to any of the APS publications that involve the use of human beings must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and Title 45, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46, Protection of Human Subjects, Revised June 23, 2005, effective June 23, 2005. Research involving animals must adhere to APS’s Guiding Principles in the Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research and Training . APS insists that all investigations involving humans or animals reported in its publications be conducted in conformity with these principles, and that a statement of protocol approval from an IRB or IACUC or equivalent is included in the methods section of the paper.
The description of animal procedures in the manuscript should be sufficient to permit readers to evaluate the quality of the data presented and to replicate the experiments, if needed. Studies involving surgeries or other painful procedures must include an explanation of steps taken to mitigate pain and distress, including the types and dosage of anesthetics and post-operative analgesics that were used. Curarizing agents are not anesthetics; if these were used, evidence must be provided that anesthesia of suitable grade and duration was employed. Authors may want to review guidelines provided by the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (National Academy of Sciences), Guidance for the Description of Animal Research in Scientific Publications, and those of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, Animals in Research: In Vivo Experiments for additional guidance to determine what items are relevant to their study.