New Author Guidelines for Displaying Data and Reporting Data Analysis and Statistical Methods in Experimental...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
• Biomedical Research Reporting

Background:

• The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) has revised author instructions for three key journals: Drug Metabolism and Disposition, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and Molecular Pharmacology.
• These revisions focus on enhancing the granularity and transparency of data analysis and reporting, not on experimental design or execution.

Discussion:

• Key recommendations include distinguishing between preplanned and exploratory studies, specifying statistical analysis plans before data collection, and clearly documenting outlier exclusion criteria.
• The guidelines advocate for reporting variability using standard deviation (S.D.) or interquartile range and precision with confidence intervals, discouraging the use of standard error (S.E.).
• Emphasis is placed on reporting effect sizes with confidence intervals over P values, and on using data visualization methods like scatter plots, violin plots, or box-and-whisker plots instead of bar graphs where appropriate.

Key Insights:

• Revised guidelines promote greater detail in reporting experimental findings and statistical methods.
• The changes aim to reduce bias and increase the transparency of published research.
• Clearer reporting standards will improve the reproducibility and interpretability of scientific studies.

Outlook:

• Implementation of these revised guidelines is expected to elevate the quality and reliability of research published in ASPET journals.
• These standards may influence reporting practices across broader scientific disciplines.
• The focus on detailed reporting will empower researchers to better understand and build upon existing findings.