How Study supports the ARRIVE Guidelines

The ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines are intended to improve the reporting of research using animals – maximising information published and minimising unnecessary studies.

The ARRIVE guidelines, originally published in PLOS Biology, were developed in consultation with the scientific community as part of an NC3Rs initiative to improve the standard of reporting of research using animals.

You can download the ARRIVE guidelines in English by following this link.

The ARRIVE Guidelines are being adopted and followed by a growing number of research groups, globally, as part of a commitment to the 3Rs but also as a practical way to address concerns that existing in the Reproducibility and Rigour of preclinical research with animal models.

Central to the ARRIVE Guidelines is the need for transparency concerning the study inputs and parameters, best practice experimental design and execution (including properly documenting procedures) and evidencing and documenting ALL the outcomes, including adverse events.

Using the ARRIVE Checklist, as a guide, we can see how Study specifically delivers the capabilities you need to be ARRIVE compliant.

	Item	Recommendation	Study solution
Title	1	Provide as accurate and concise a description of the content of the article as possible	The Study Title can be defined in the General Section of Study.
Abstract	2	Provide an accurate summary of the: background, research objectives details of the species or strain of animal used key methods principal findings and conclusions of the study	See the General Section of Study - the three fields: Objectives, Hypothesis and Rationale Plus Enrolled Animals, Protocol Notes and Test Methods for each experiment.
INTRODUCTION
Background	3	a. Include sufficient scientific background (including relevant references to previous work) to understand the motivation and context for the study, and explain the experimental approach and rationale. b. Explain how and why the animal species and model being used can address the scientific objectives and, where appropriate, the study’s relevance to human biology	See the General Section of Study - the three fields: Objectives, Hypothesis and Rationale.
Objectives	4	Clearly describe the primary and any secondary objectives of the study, or specific hypotheses being tested	See the General Section of Study - the field: Objectives.
METHODS
Ethical statement	5	Indicate the nature of the ethical review permissions, relevant licences (e.g. Animal [Scientific Procedures] Act 1986), and national or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals, that cover the research	See Protocols - Notes and Attachments.
Study design	6	For each experiment, give brief details of the study design including: a. The number of experimental and control groups. b. Any steps taken to minimise the effects of subjective bias when allocating animals to treatment (e.g. randomisation procedure) and when assessing results (e.g. if done, describe who was blinded and when). c. The experimental unit (e.g. a single animal, group or cage of animals). A time-line diagram or flow chart can be useful to illustrate how complex study designs were carried out	a. The Experiments b. Attachments c. Always single animal You can print the Phases and Experiments screen to demonstrate the time-line.
Experimental procedures	7	For each experiment and each experimental group, including controls, provide precise details of all procedures carried out. For example: a. How (e.g. drug formulation and dose, site and route of administration, anaesthesia and analgesia used [including monitoring], surgical procedure, method of euthanasia). Provide details of any specialist equipment used, including supplier(s). b. When (e.g. time of day). c. Where (e.g. home cage, laboratory, water maze). d. Why (e.g. rationale for choice of specific anaesthetic, route of administration, drug dose used)	Test Methods - this function enables you to capture and document all these features a. to c. You should document d. in the Rationale field of the General section of the Study.
Experimental animals	8	a. Provide details of the animals used, including species, strain, sex, developmental stage (e.g. mean or median age plus age range) and weight (e.g. mean or median weight plus weight range). b. Provide further relevant information such as the source of animals, international strain nomenclature, genetic modification status (e.g. knock-out or transgenic), genotype, health/immune status, drug or test naïve, previous procedures, etc.	Details of the animals are captured via the Enrolment function which cross references the Animal record information, which includes source, genotype, health status etc. Further details can be capture in the Animal Notes.
Housing and husbandry	9	Provide details of: a. Housing (type of facility e.g. specific pathogen free [SPF]; type of cage or housing; bedding material; number of cage companions; tank shape and material etc. for fish). b. Husbandry conditions (e.g. breeding programme, light/dark cycle, temperature, quality of water etc for fish, type of food, access to food and water, environmental enrichment). c. Welfare-related assessments and interventions that were carried out prior to, during, or after the experiment.	The Organisation and Workbench enables you to record facility information, BSL, housing types and density. Husbandry conditions would need to be documented in the Protocol Notes and Attachments Welfare interventions should be captured as ad hoc Observations and Results in Tasks.
Sample size	10	a. Specify the total number of animals used in each experiment, and the number of animals in each experimental group. b. Explain how the number of animals was arrived at. Provide details of any sample size calculation used. c. Indicate the number of independent replications of each experiment, if relevant.	The Study Animal Summary captures the total sample size. The Enrolment section documents the sample size per experimental group.
Allocating animals to experimental groups	11	a. Give full details of how animals were allocated to experimental groups, including randomisation or matching if done. b. Describe the order in which the animals in the different experimental groups were treated and assessed.	The Enrolment function keeps a record of which experimental group animals are assigned to. A complete history is also recorded for every animal record. A record of how animals were randomised is kept in their cage history, as the system assumes randomising animals results in a re-assignment of their cages. Order of treatment is recorded via tasks and a full history is kept for each animal.
Experimental outcomes	12	Clearly define the primary and secondary experimental outcomes assessed (e.g. cell death, molecular markers, behavioural changes).	Primary Study outcomes (defined as pre-agreed tasks which are generated from the Test Methods, all of which are date and time ordered) are recorded in the Study Results but also on the Animal Results records. Secondary, or adhoc, unplanned observations and experimental outcomes are recorded on the Animal Results tab.
Statistical methods	13	a. Provide details of the statistical methods used for each analysis. b. Specify the unit of analysis for each dataset (e.g. single animal, group of animals, single neuron). c. Describe any methods used to assess whether the data met the assumptions of the statistical approach.	By default, the Unit of Analysis in Study is a single animal. The statistical methods used can be recorded as an uploaded attachment in the Study.
RESULTS
Baseline data	14	For each experimental group, report relevant characteristics and health status of animals (e.g. weight, microbiological status, and drug or test naïve) prior to treatment or testing. (This information can often be tabulated).	This type of information can be recorded for each animal in a pre-study / acclimatisation phase.
Numbers analysed	15	a. Report the number of animals in each group included in each analysis. Report absolute numbers (e.g. 10/20, not 50%). b. If any animals or data were not included in the analysis, explain why	The Study Results export enables you to calculate counts of animals in each experimental group.
Outcomes and estimation	16	Report the results for each analysis carried out, with a measure of precision (e.g. standard error or confidence interval).	Results are saved and stored against both the experiment and the animal and can be viewed in the Results tabs in the Study and the Animal record.
Adverse events	17	a. Give details of all important adverse events in each experimental group. b. Describe any modifications to the experimental protocols made to reduce adverse events.	The Animal record enables both an observation to be recorded as an Adverse event and a fatality to be recorded as an Adverse event.
DISCUSSION
Interpretation/ scientific implications	18	a. Interpret the results, taking into account the study objectives and hypotheses, current theory and other relevant studies in the literature. b. Comment on the study limitations including any potential sources of bias, any limitations of the animal model, and the imprecision associated with the results. c. Describe any implications of your experimental methods or findings for the replacement, refinement or reduction (the 3Rs) of the use of animals in research.
Generalisability/ translation	19	Comment on whether, and how, the findings of this study are likely to translate to other species or systems, including any relevance to human biology
Funding	20	List all funding sources (including grant number) and the role of the funder(s) in the study.	This information can be captured and documented in the General Section of the Study record in the Funding field.