Newsletter December 2020
December 18, 2020NEWS from the PAASP network Successful adaption of the EQIPD Quality System to specific research needs – Read more PAASP publication: Guidelines…
Read MoreHow to organize data in a spreadsheet?
December 18, 2020Spreadsheets are widely used as a digital tool to capture, organize, process and archive information. However, to organize the information provided…
Read MoreFive rules for evidence communication
December 18, 2020Communicating science is difficult. We were told to tell exciting stories around our scientific discoveries – and it is certainly true…
Read MoreThe Costs of Competitiveness
December 18, 2020In one of the recent Nature issues, there was a piece called “France’s reforms: the costs of competitiveness”. In a nutshell,…
Read MoreA time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together
December 18, 2020Since the seminal paper by Laura Bohn 20 years ago, expectations have built up that biased mu-opioid receptor agonists will deliver what we…
Read MoreADDITIONAL READS IN DECEMBER 2020
December 18, 2020Collaboration on the road to better preclinical research Research integrity: nine ways to move from talk to walk Compliance Services for…
Read MoreHow often do leading biomedical journals use statistical experts to evaluate statistical methods? The results of a survey
December 18, 2020Scientific claims in biomedical research are typically derived from statistical analyses. However, misuse or misunderstanding of statistical procedures and results permeate…
Read MorePublication rate in preclinical research: a plea for preregistration
December 18, 2020In biomedical research, limitations in the design and reporting of experiments are known to cause avoidable waste of time and resources….
Read MoreUse of causal claims in observational studies: a research on research study
December 18, 2020Many researchers remain tempted to draw causal conclusions from observational data despite acknowledging that mere association is not causation because causal…
Read MoreCredibility of preprints: an interdisciplinary survey of researchers
December 18, 2020Preprints increase accessibility and can speed scholarly communication if researchers view them as credible enough to read and use. Preprint services…
Read MoreThe Rigor and Transparency Index Quality Metric for Assessing Biological and Medical Science Methods
December 18, 2020Some causes for the problem of not being able to reproduce the work of others can be addressed when publishing scientific…
Read MoreThe “replication crisis” in the public eye: Germans’ awareness and perceptions of the (ir)reproducibility of scientific research
December 18, 2020While 90% of scientists surveyed by Nature feel that there is a “reproducibility crisis” in science (Baker, 2016), and major media…
Read MoreGreat distinction for PAASP partner Martin C. Michel
December 18, 2020Martin – once again – made it into the Clarivate List of Highly Cited Researchers 2020. This list recognizes true pioneers in…
Read MoreThe BioRN annual conference
December 18, 2020The BIOtech network Rhein-Neckar (BioRN) held its annual (digitally) conference virtually on November 20th. The network brings together a mix of…
Read MoreNew publication co-authored by PAASP: Survey of Core Facilities shows the importance of communication and management for optimal research quality
December 18, 2020PAASP and the Interdisciplinary Neurobehavioral Core (INBC) at the University of Heidelberg aim to establish a quality framework for Core Facilities…
Read MorePAASP publication in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery: Improving target assessment in biomedical research – the GOT-IT recommendations
December 18, 2020The PAASP team has published an article in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, together with research groups from the Fraunhofer IME-TMP and the…
Read MoreSuccessful adaption of the EQIPD Quality System to specific research needs
December 18, 2020The EQIPD Quality System is the result of a collaborative effort between several people and organizations, yet it cannot address all…
Read MoreGuidelines for target validation published
November 16, 2020The GOT-IT team, consisting of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute, Charité and PAASP, announces the publication of their guidelines for target validation…
Read MoreThe Global Preclinical Data Forum, Cohen Veterans Bioscience and ECNP announced the Winner of the 2020 Best Negative Data Prize
October 8, 2020The Global Preclinical Data Forum (GPDF), a jointly sponsored U.S. and European initiative, funded by Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) and the…
Read MoreNewsletter October 2020
October 8, 2020PAASP NEWS GPDF, CVB and ECNP announced the Winner of the 2020 Best Negative Data Prize – Read more Funding opportunities: Accelerating Publication…
Read MoreViolation of research integrity by selective citation
October 8, 2020We have written repeatedly (LINK, LINK) about the border between the fields of Good Research Practice and Research Integrity being more nuanced…
Read MoreAdditional reads in October 2020
October 8, 2020When antibodies mislead: the quest for validation Von Maus zu Mensch durch das Tal des Todes (in German) Researchers’ Perceptions of…
Read MoreHow the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the necessity of animal research
October 8, 2020Recently, a petition was offered to the European Commission calling for an immediate ban on animal testing. Although a Europe-wide moratorium…
Read MoreTen simple rules on how to write a standard operating procedure
October 8, 2020The long-term accessibility of research data is fundamental in the economy of the research production process. However, the availability of data…
Read MoreReproducibility in systems biology modelling
October 8, 2020The reproducibility crisis has emerged as an important concern across many fields of science. Systems biology modelling, which involves mathematical representation…
Read MorePAASP Editorial in the Journal Temperature
October 8, 2020Please following this LINK to our Editorial “Enhancing quality in preclinical data: Of hot science and cool quality”, which was just published in…
Read MoreEQIPD: PAASP’s contribution to the new Quality System for preclinical research
October 8, 2020EQIPD (European Quality In Preclinical Data) is a project that was funded by the Innovative Medicine Initiative with the vision to enable a…
Read MorePEERS – the Platform for the Exchange of Experimental Research Standards
October 8, 2020We are happy to announce that PAASP is part of the PEERS (Platform for the Exchange of Experimental Research Standards) initiative, which is supported by…
Read MoreFunding opportunities: Accelerating Publication of Parkinson’s Disease Replication Data
October 8, 2020To address the bias toward the publication of novel positive results, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and…
Read MoreIn vivo veritas
October 5, 2020Most of our readers are biologists but nevertheless we are occasionally exposed to medicinal chemistry literature describing novel research tools, lead…
Read MoreReproducibility in systems biology modelling
August 25, 2020A recent report by Tiwari et al. investigated the reproducibility rate in systems biology modelling by reproducing the mathematical representation of 455 kinetic…
Read MoreSigning digitally with Microsoft
August 17, 2020A. Background & Definitions Microsoft Office (incl. Word, Excel and PowerPoint) offers the possibility to create a digital signature (digital ID) as…
Read MoreR script BestDose
August 17, 2020library(scales)library(ggplot2) ## sample sizen1 <- 8n2 <- 16n3 <- 32n4 <- 64 ## iterations m <- 500yfig <- vector()xfig <- vector()facetfig…
Read MoreRisk‐of‐bias VISualization (robvis): An R package and Shiny web app for visualizing risk‐of‐bias assessments
August 17, 2020There is currently no generic tool for producing figures to display and explore the risk‐of‐bias assessments that routinely take place as…
Read MoreBest-dose analysis – A confirmatory research case
August 17, 2020It is often observed and discussed that there are substantial inter-individual differences that can overshadow effects of otherwise effective treatments. These…
Read MoreFederal judge invalidates patents – but on the basis of a common statistical mistake
August 17, 2020In a recent case before the US District Court in the District of Nevada, the judge ruled six method-of-use patents to…
Read MoreOur study was conducted according to…
August 17, 2020Our stu Over the past several years, more and more journals have revised their guides for authors and included specific instructions…
Read MoreAdditional reads in August 2020
August 17, 2020Five better ways to assess science $48 Billion Is Lost to Avoidable Experiment Expenditure Every Year Opinion: Surgisphere Fiasco Highlights Need…
Read MoreChoice of y-axis can mislead readers
August 17, 2020Biases at the level of study design, conduct, data analysis and reporting have been recognized as major contributing factors to poor…
Read MoreUsing Bayes factor hypothesis testing in neuroscience to establish evidence of absence
August 17, 2020For neuroscience and brain research to progress, it is critical to differentiate between experimental manipulations which have no effect and those…
Read MoreAdvancing science or advancing careers? Researchers’ opinions on success indicators
August 17, 2020The way in which we assess researchers has been under the radar in the past few years. Critics argue that current…
Read MoreAcademic criteria for promotion and tenure in biomedical sciences faculties: cross-sectional analysis of international sample of universities
August 17, 2020Understanding the variability of criteria and thresholds for promotion and tenure applied across institutions requires a systematic empirical assessment. Therefore, the…
Read MoreReproducibility of animal research in light of biological variation
August 17, 2020Context-dependent biological variation presents a unique challenge to the reproducibility of results in experimental animal research, because organisms’ responses to experimental…
Read MoreThe Hong Kong Principles for assessing researchers: Fostering research integrity
August 17, 2020For knowledge to benefit research and society, it must be trustworthy. Trustworthy research is robust, rigorous, and transparent at all stages…
Read MoreImpact of tumour heterogeneity and tissue sampling for genetic mutation testing: a systematic review and post hoc analysis
August 17, 2020Staff at QED Biomedical Ltd have conducted research to demonstrate how sample bias in patient- derived tumour tissue samples with somatic…
Read MoreNIH Request for Information (RFI) aimed at enhancing rigor, transparency, and translatability to improve biomedical and behavioral research involving animal models
August 17, 2020Since several months, there is a Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) that is charged with…
Read MoreNewsletter August 2020
August 17, 2020NEWS – PAASP US receives a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant – Read more …
Read MoreScaling the y-axis
May 29, 2020One of our colleagues sent us this interesting image from a national TV station. Even though the topic is very sad…
Read MoreNewsletter May 2020
May 28, 2020NEWS The Global Preclinical Data Forum announces the 2020 Negative Data Prize – Read more Dr. Thomas Steckler joins the PAASP Advisory…
Read MoreAdditional reads in May 2020
May 28, 2020SuperPlots: Communicating reproducibility and variability in cell biology Against pandemic research exceptionalism Pseudoscience and COVID-19 — we’ve had enough already Spin…
Read MoreThe Global Preclinical Data Forum announces the 2020 Negative Data Prize
May 28, 2020The Global Preclinical Data Forum (GPDF), a partnership of Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB), a non-profit research biotech, and the European College…
Read MoreOctopus: The primary research record
May 28, 2020Created in partnership with the UK Reproducibility Network, the Octopus platform is free to use and publishes all kinds of scientific…
Read MoreUsing Microsoft OneNote as an ELN
May 28, 2020Electronic research data documentation can be achieved with either comprehensive software applications or “do-it-yourself” solutions. Whereas the first is often quite…
Read MoreBeauty is not everything
May 28, 2020Being able to trust the experimental data is critical for experimental research. This is certainly also true for Western Blotting as…
Read MorePLOS launches research data survey
May 28, 2020PLOS has launched a major survey targeting researchers in North America and Europe: The goal is to deepen the understanding of…
Read MoreDie Reproduzierbarkeitskrise: Bedrohung oder Chance für die Wissenschaft? (In German)
May 28, 2020In this Editorial, published in Biologie in unserer Zeit, Martin C. Michel and Ralf Dahm discuss threats and opportunities related to…
Read MoreSystematic review of guidelines for internal validity in the design, conduct and analysis of preclinical biomedical experiments involving laboratory animals
May 28, 2020Several initiatives have set out to increase transparency and internal validity of preclinical studies. While many of the points raised in…
Read MoreVariability in the analysis of a single neuroimaging dataset by many teams
May 28, 2020To test the reproducibility and robustness of results obtained in the neuroimaging field, 70 independent teams of neuroimaging experts from across…
Read MoreCovid-19 and the PPV
May 28, 2020There has been a lot in the news recently about using antibody tests to detect people who have had Covid-19 and…
Read MoreResearch rigor in preclinical studies on biological effects of whole-body exposure to electromagnetic fields (2G/3G cell phone technology)
May 26, 2020Various modern technologies are known to bear risks to the human health. In many cases, the society learns about these risks…
Read MoreConflict of interest – Education needed!
May 22, 2020A “Conflict of Interest (CoI)” is a very special situation of which we are usually reminded about when a famous scientist…
Read MoreFun, fun, fun…
March 31, 2020A mathematician, a physicist, and a statistician went hunting for deer. When they chanced upon one buck lounging about, the mathematician…
Read MoreSample Size Matters – An App Exploring Sample Size and Power
March 31, 2020Problems with statistical analysis and data visualization in published papers (REF1, REF2, REF3, REF4) have led to calls to improve training for biomedical scientists….
Read MoreThe Embassy of Good Science – An online platform fostering research integrity
March 31, 2020By Iris Lechner The field of research integrity is growing substantially. An increasing number of guidelines and initiatives to foster responsible research…
Read MoreData analysis – Issues, challenges and solutions
March 31, 2020The first official meeting of the Preclinical Data Forum took place in Berlin in 2014 and one of the central seminars was given…
Read MoreCommentary March 2020
March 31, 2020Comment on Walsh et al. “The statistical significance of randomized controlled trial results is frequently fragile: a case for a Fragility…
Read MoreAdditional reads in March 2020
March 31, 2020Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery What Research Institutions Can Do to Foster Research Integrity When…
Read MoreComparing quality of reporting between preprints and peer-reviewed articles in the biomedical literature
March 31, 2020Preprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to…
Read MoreResearch Culture: Framework for advancing rigorous research
March 31, 2020There is a pressing need to increase the rigor of research in the life and biomedical sciences. To address this issue,…
Read MoreImproving the trustworthiness, usefulness, and ethics of biomedical research through an innovative and comprehensive institutional initiative
March 31, 2020The reproducibility crisis triggered worldwide initiatives to improve rigor, reproducibility, and transparency in biomedical research. There are many examples of scientists,…
Read MoreResearch Culture and Reproducibility
March 31, 2020There is an ongoing debate regarding the robustness and credibility of published scientific research. In this article, the authors argue that…
Read MoreNo raw data, no science: another possible source of the reproducibility crisis
March 31, 2020Inappropriate practices of science, such as HARKing, p-hacking, and selective reporting of positive results, have been suggested as causes of irreproducibility….
Read MoreImproving quality of preclinical academic research through auditing: A feasibility study
March 31, 2020Commentary provided by Claudia Kurreck (Department of Experimental Neurology, Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany) The performance of audits and assessments is always a…
Read MoreCoronavirus: The need for solid, robust data
March 31, 2020Like everyone else we are with a great concern given the current coronavirus situation and the beginning of a global experiment:…
Read MoreNewsletter March 2020
March 31, 2020Coronavirus: The need for solid, robust data – Read more Featured Publication: Improving quality of preclinical academic research through auditing: A feasibility study…
Read MoreBiological vs technical replicates: Now from a data analysis perspective: R script
March 31, 2020This is the R Script referenced in the blog post LINK
Read MoreBiological vs technical replicates: Now from a data analysis perspective
March 31, 2020We have discussed this topic several times before (HERE and HERE). There seems to be a growing understanding that, when reporting an experiment’s…
Read MoreFun Section January 2020
February 1, 2020A funny way to show the importance of describing your study/experiment in most detail and to be transparent and precise so…
Read MoreFrom fecal transplants, obesity and the importance of randomizatIon and normalization
February 1, 2020In one of the last Newsletter issues (LINK), we wrote about the uncertainties which sometimes exist when trying to find the…
Read MoreOf lab notebooks and leaders in science
February 1, 2020Good research practices are often said to work against the current success model in science (based on positive results, number and…
Read MoreIs N-Hacking ever OK?
February 1, 2020It has been proposed repeatedly that adding samples based on results of initial experiments is a form of p-hacking (see e.g. new…
Read MoreAdditional READS in January 2020
February 1, 2020Measuring Transparency and Reproducibility of Biomedical Articles Causal claims about correlations reduced in press releases following academic study of health news…
Read MoreIs N-Hacking Ever OK? A simulation-based study
February 1, 2020After an experiment has been completed and analyzed, a trend may be observed that is “not quite significant”. Sometimes in this…
Read MorePublishers’ Responsibilities in Promoting Data Quality and Reproducibility
February 1, 2020Scholarly publishers can help to increase data quality and reproducible research by promoting transparency and openness. Increasing transparency can be achieved…
Read MoreRigor and Transparency Index, a new metric of quality for assessing biological and medical science methods.
February 1, 2020The reproducibility crisis in science is a multifaceted problem involving practices and incentives, both in the laboratory and in publication.Using SciScore,…
Read MoreNew Author Guidelines for Displaying Data and Reporting Data Analysis and Statistical Methods in Experimental Biology
February 1, 2020To improve the robustness and transparency of scientific reporting, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), with input from PAASP’s Martin…
Read MoreNewsletter January 2020
February 1, 2020News NIH has awarded an SBIR grant to a PAASP Network member in the US – Read more New Author Guidelines to…
Read MorePAASP US, LLC receives funding from NIH
January 29, 2020The PAASP Network is very glad to announce that the NIH has awarded an SBIR grant to a Network member –…
Read MoreMost innovations are not advances: innovation + evaluation = progress
January 23, 2020A blog post by Paul Glasziou from January 2013 starts with this headline, which is very much in line with our…
Read MoreIs N-Hacking Ever OK? A simulation-based study
January 2, 2020After an experiment has been completed and analyzed, a trend may be observed that is “not quite significant”. Sometimes in this…
Read MoreParachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial
December 18, 2019Objective: To determine if using a parachute prevents death or major traumatic injury when jumping from an aircraft.Design: Randomized controlled trial.Setting: Private or commercial…
Read MoreWhen p-hacking is not p-hacking – or: How shall the data be reported?
December 18, 2019Organ bath experiments are a key technology to assess contractility of smooth muscle. When comparing force of contraction, investigators typically normalize…
Read MoreInstead of replicating studies with problems, let’s replicate the good studies
December 18, 2019A few months ago, the “Reproducibility and Replicability in Science” report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was…
Read MoreAn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
December 18, 2019We have read with great interest a recent commentary in Nature about scientific research organizations hiring integrity reviewers to vet their manuscripts before…
Read MoreADDITIONAL READS December 2019
December 18, 2019Why scientists need to be better at data visualization Statistical significance gives bias a free pass Petitions in scientific argumentation: Dissecting…
Read MoreA consensus-based transparency checklist
December 18, 2019Transparency of research processes is required not only for evaluating and reproducing results, but also for research synthesis and meta-analysis from…
Read MorePublication rates in animal research. Extent and characteristics of published and non-published animal studies followed up at two German university medical centres
December 18, 2019Non-publication and publication bias in animal research are prominent topics in current debates on the “reproducibility crisis” and “failure rates in…
Read MorePAASP at the REWARD/EQUATOR Conference in Berlin (February 20-22, 2020)
December 18, 2019We will present our activities to improve Good Research Practice and Data Quality and are very much looking forward to meet…
Read MoreNIH Needs Your Feedback on a DRAFT NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing
December 18, 2019The draft policy requires all NIH-funded grantees to submit a Data Management and Sharing Plan outlining how researchers plan to manage scientific data,…
Read MoreMarch 3, 2020: Kick-Off Meeting – Quality Standards for In Vitro Research
December 18, 2019Organized by the global Preclinical Data Forum, the meeting is aimed to start a discussion about developing specific quality guidelines and standards…
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