Refining animal research: The Animal Study Registry

PLoS Biol. 2019 Oct 15;17(10):e3000463. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000463. eCollection 2019 Oct.

Abstract

The Animal Study Registry (ASR; www.animalstudyregistry.org) was launched in January 2019 for preregistration of animal studies in order to increase transparency and reproducibility of bioscience research and to promote animal welfare. The registry is free of charge and is designed for exploratory and confirmatory studies within applied science as well as basic and preclinical research. The registration form helps scientists plan their study thoroughly by asking detailed questions concerning study design, methods, and statistics. With registration, the study automatically receives a digital object identifier (DOI) that marks it as intellectual property of the researcher. To accommodate the researchers concerns about theft of ideas, users can restrict the visibility of their registered studies for up to 5 years. The full content of the study becomes publicly accessible at the end of the embargo period. Because the platform is embedded in the infrastructure of the German Federal Government, continuity and data security are provided. By registering a study in the ASR, researchers can show their commitment to transparency and data quality to reviewers and editors, to third-party donors, and to the general public.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Experimentation / ethics
  • Animal Experimentation / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Animal Welfare / ethics
  • Animal Welfare / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Computer Security
  • Data Accuracy
  • Germany
  • Government Regulation
  • Humans
  • Intellectual Property
  • Registries*
  • Research Design / legislation & jurisprudence*

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work. The work is financed by the annual budget of The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). BfR reports to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The BMEL had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.