title: Risk of Bias in Reports of In Vivo Research: A Focus for Improvement.
abstract: The reliability of experimental findings depends on the rigour of experimental design. Here we show limited reporting of measures to reduce the risk of bias in a random sample of life sciences publications, significantly lower reporting of randomisation in work published in journals of high impact, and very limited reporting of measures to reduce the risk of bias in publications from leading United Kingdom institutions. Ascertainment of differences between institutions might serve both as a measure of research quality and as a tool for institutional efforts to improve research quality.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Malcolm R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Macleod
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lawson McLean
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aikaterini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kyriakopoulou
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Serghiou
authors.affiliation: Medical School, University Medical Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Wilde
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sherratt
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirst
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hemblade
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Zsanett
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bahor
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nunes-Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aparna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Potluru
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Julija
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baginskaite
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Julija
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baginskitae
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kieren
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vesterinen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gillian L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Currie
authors.affiliation: Statistics and Informatics Platform, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Leonid
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Churilov
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Howells
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; Statistics and Informatics Platform, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Emily S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Sena
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001690:Biological Science Disciplines / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D000068598:Data Accuracy; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D055811:Journal Impact Factor; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000639:trends; D017594:Publication Bias; D058996:Quality Improvement; D015983:Selection Bias; D006113:United Kingdom