Smith J A, Birke L, Sadler D
Institute of Medical Ethics, Edinburgh, UK.
Lab Anim. 1997 Oct;31(4):312-7. doi: 10.1258/002367797780596176.
This paper reports the results of an examination of the 'methods' sections of a range of experimental research papers in biomedical science, focusing on the descriptions of animal use and housing. Detailed descriptions in the methods should enable replication, and also enable readers to judge scientific quality. Relatively few papers sampled gave adequate descriptions of housing conditions and many failed to give details of physiologically relevant variables such as weight of animals. Thirty per cent of papers omitted the number of animals used, and the deaths of animals (whether as part of the protocol, or accidental death) were not always recorded. Adequate reporting of the conditions of animal maintenance and use are important, both in relation to the quality of the science produced, and also because of public concerns about the ethics of animal experiments.
本文报告了对一系列生物医学科学实验研究论文“方法”部分的审查结果，重点关注动物使用和饲养的描述。方法部分的详细描述应能实现重复实验，还能让读者判断科学质量。抽样的论文中相对较少对饲养条件进行了充分描述，许多论文未给出诸如动物体重等生理相关变量的细节。30%的论文遗漏了所用动物的数量，动物的死亡情况（无论是作为实验方案的一部分还是意外死亡）也并非总是有记录。充分报告动物饲养和使用的条件很重要，这既关乎所产生科学成果的质量，也因公众对动物实验伦理的关注。
