All reporting guidelines
Check your manuscript against ARRIVE.
- Guideline
- ARRIVE 2.0 (2020)
- Items
- 21
- Criteria
- 34
- Sections
- 2
- Applies to
- animal study
Any in vivo animal research. The Essential 10 carry the minimum a reader needs to judge reliability. The Recommended Set adds the context around them.
Named in the author instructions of a large number of life-science journals and required by several funders.
ARRIVE 2.0 (2020) · Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments
What comes back34 criteria
Showing all 34 criteria.
The Essential 10
- Study design1aStudy design1aFor each experiment, provide brief details of the groups being compared, including control groups. If no control group has been used, the rationale should be stated.
- 1b1bThe experimental unit (e.g. a single animal, litter, or cage of animals).
- Sample size2aSample size2aSpecify the exact number of experimental units allocated to each group, and the total number in each experiment. Also indicate the total number of animals used.
- 2b2bExplain how the sample size was decided. Provide details of any a priori sample size calculation, if done.
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria3aInclusion and exclusion criteria3aDescribe any criteria used for including and excluding animals (or experimental units) during the experiment, and data points during the analysis. Specify if these criteria were established a priori. If no criteria were set, state this explicitly.
- 3b3bFor each experimental group, report any animals, experimental units or data points not included in the analysis and explain why. If there were no exclusions, state so.
- 3c3cFor each analysis, report the exact value of n in each experimental group.
- Randomisation4aRandomisation4aState whether randomisation was used to allocate experimental units to control and treatment groups. If done, provide the method used to generate the randomisation sequence.
- 4b4bDescribe the strategy used to minimise potential confounders such as the order of treatments and measurements, or animal/cage location. If confounders were not controlled, state this explicitly.
- Blinding5Blinding5Describe who was aware of the group allocation at the different stages of the experiment (during the allocation, the conduct of the experiment, the outcome assessment, and the data analysis).
- Outcome measures6aOutcome measures6aClearly define all outcome measures assessed (e.g. cell death, molecular markers, or behavioural changes).
- 6b6bFor hypothesis-testing studies, specify the primary outcome measure, i.e. the outcome measure that was used to determine the sample size.
- Statistical methods7aStatistical methods7aProvide details of the statistical methods used for each analysis, including software used.
- 7b7bDescribe any methods used to assess whether the data met the assumptions of the statistical approach, and what was done if the assumptions were not met.
- Experimental animals8aExperimental animals8aProvide species-appropriate details of the animals used, including species, strain and substrain, sex, age or developmental stage, and, if relevant, weight.
- 8b8bProvide further relevant information on the provenance of animals, health/immune status, genetic modification status, genotype, and any previous procedures.
- Experimental procedures9Experimental procedures9For each experimental group, including controls, describe the procedures in enough detail to allow others to replicate them: what was done, how it was done and what was used; when and how often; where, including any acclimatisation periods; and why, with a rationale for the procedures.
- Results10Results10For each experiment conducted, including independent replications, report summary or descriptive statistics for each experimental group with a measure of variability where applicable, and, if applicable, the effect size with a confidence interval.
The Recommended Set
- Abstract11Abstract11Provide an accurate summary of the research objectives, animal species, strain and sex, key methods, principal findings, and study conclusions.
- Background12aBackground12aInclude sufficient scientific background to understand the rationale and context for the study, and explain the experimental approach.
- 12b12bExplain how the animal species and model used address the scientific objectives and, where appropriate, the relevance to human biology.
- Objectives13Objectives13Clearly describe the research question, research objectives and, where appropriate, specific hypotheses being tested.
- Ethical statement14Ethical statement14Provide the name of the ethical review committee or equivalent that has approved the use of animals in this study, and any relevant licence or protocol numbers (if applicable). If ethical approval was not sought or granted, provide a justification.
- Housing and husbandry15Housing and husbandry15Provide details of housing and husbandry conditions, including any environmental enrichment.
- Animal care and monitoring16aAnimal care and monitoring16aDescribe any interventions or steps taken in the experimental protocols to reduce pain, suffering and distress.
- 16b16bReport any expected or unexpected adverse events.
- 16c16cDescribe the humane endpoints established for the study, the signs that were monitored and the frequency of monitoring. If the study did not have humane endpoints, state this.
- Interpretation/scientific implications17aInterpretation/scientific implications17aInterpret the results, taking into account the study objectives and hypotheses, current theory and other relevant studies in the literature.
- 17b17bComment on the study limitations including potential sources of bias, limitations of the animal model, and imprecision associated with the results.
- Generalisability/translation18Generalisability/translation18Comment on whether, and how, the findings of this study are likely to generalise to other species or experimental conditions, including any relevance to human biology (where appropriate).
- Protocol registration19Protocol registration19Provide a statement indicating whether a protocol (including the research question, key design features, and analysis plan) was prepared before the study, and if and where this protocol was registered.
- Data access20Data access20Provide a statement describing if and where study data are available.
- Declaration of interests21aDeclaration of interests21aDeclare any potential conflicts of interest, including financial and non-financial. If none exist, this should be stated.
- 21b21bList all funding sources (including grant identifier) and the role of the funder(s) in the design, analysis and reporting of the study.
ARRIVE 2.0 (2020) checklist items reproduced from the published guideline. Percie du Sert N, Hurst V, Ahluwalia A, Alam S, Avey MT, Baker M, et al. The ARRIVE guidelines 2.0: updated guidelines for reporting animal research. CC BY 4.0.
What comes back
See one item in fullThe same form, marked against your own manuscript.
The sample above is an illustration. On your manuscript, all 34 criteria come back marked, and the ones that fall short raise a mark in the margin of the paper itself.
- Met, partly met, not met or not applicable, for every item
- Each item highlighted in your text, ready to amend
- What is missing, how to fix it, and where in the paper it belongs
- The whole form, downloadable as a marked spreadsheet
Working on something else?
All guidelines