A Real Problem: Evidence of Unjustified Requests for Animal Experiments in Scientific Publishing

Study in a Sentence: Physicians Committee researchers have provided the first ever systematic evidence of animal methods bias in publishing: the preference for animal-based research methods.

Healthy for Humans: Animal experiments often fail to translate to patients, but the shift toward more ethical and effective research approaches is marred by institutional inertia against a changing status quo as well as individually held prejudices that favor the use of animals in science. Identifying and understanding these prejudices, which can broadly be characterized as animal methods bias, is the first step in addressing them.

Redefining Research: Previous accounts of animal methods bias were restricted to anecdotal accounts of peer reviewers requesting that authors add animal experiments to their nonanimal studies. With this survey, the first systematic evidence of animal methods bias is presented, providing the basis for the research community, including scientific journal publishers, to take action to prevent more unjustified requests for animal experiments.