Planning experiments: Updated guidance on experimental design and analysis and their reporting III

Michael J Curtis; Stephen P H Alexander; Giuseppe Cirino; Christopher H George; David A Kendall; Paul A Insel; Angelo A Izzo; Yong Ji; Reynold A Panettieri; Hemal H Patel; Christopher G Sobey; S Clare Stanford; Phil Stanley; Barbara Stefanska; Gary J Stephens; Mauro M Teixeira; Nathalie Vergnolle; Amrita Ahluwalia

doi:10.1111/bph.15868

Planning experiments: Updated guidance on experimental design and analysis and their reporting III

Br J Pharmacol. 2022 Aug;179(15):3907-3913. doi: 10.1111/bph.15868. Epub 2022 Jun 7.

Authors

Michael J Curtis¹, Stephen P H Alexander², Giuseppe Cirino³, Christopher H George⁴, David A Kendall², Paul A Insel⁵, Angelo A Izzo³, Yong Ji⁶, Reynold A Panettieri⁷, Hemal H Patel⁵, Christopher G Sobey⁸, S Clare Stanford⁹, Phil Stanley¹⁰, Barbara Stefanska¹¹, Gary J Stephens¹², Mauro M Teixeira¹³, Nathalie Vergnolle¹⁴, Amrita Ahluwalia¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ Kings College London, London, UK.
² University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
³ University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
⁴ Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
⁵ University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁶ Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
⁷ Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
⁸ La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ University College London, London, UK.
¹⁰ UCB Pharma, Slough, UK.
¹¹ The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
¹² University of Reading, Reading, UK.
¹³ Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
¹⁴ INSERM, Toulouse, France.
¹⁵ William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.

PMID: 35673806
DOI: 10.1111/bph.15868

Abstract

Scientists who plan to publish in British Journal of Pharmacology (BJP) must read this article before undertaking a study. This editorial provides guidance for the design of experiments. We have published previously two guidance documents on experimental design and analysis (Curtis et al., 2015; Curtis et al., 2018). This update clarifies and simplifies the requirements on design and analysis for BJP manuscripts. This editorial also details updated requirements following an audit and discussion on best practice by the BJP editorial board. Explanations for the requirements are provided in the previous articles. Here, we address new issues that have arisen in the course of handling manuscripts and emphasise three aspects of design that continue to present the greatest challenge to authors: randomisation, blinded analysis and balance of group sizes.

Publication types

Editorial

MeSH terms

Research Design*