DkNET (NIDDK Information Network): Research tools that assist scientists in improving the rigor and reproducibility of their research

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The use of problematic resources such as contaminated or misidentified cell lines and cross‐reactive antibodies lead to reproducibility problems. Research has shown that about twenty percent of published studies use contaminated cell lines [1]. Many factors, including the ability to easily retrieve alert information, result in the continued use of these resources wasting both time and money. Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) are unique identifiers for resources that assist finding, identifying, and tracking antibodies, cell lines, biological samples, organisms, and digital resources in the published literature [2]. RRIDs currently appear in over 8000 papers across 600 biomedical journals. Because authors have to supply RRIDs in their manuscripts ahead of publication, RRIDs provide a unique means for disseminating information about resource performance. For example, a search in the RRID portal (Nov 14, 2018) found 802 problematic cell lines (contaminated and/or misidentified cell lines) out of 101528 cell lines, as reported by the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC). Analysis of cell lines in published papers using RRIDs vs those that didn't use RRIDs, showed the reported use of contaminated cell lines is significantly lower in papers with RRIDs than in the average paper [3], suggesting that making researchers aware of problematic resources may decrease their usage. To make it easier for researchers to find complete information, the NIDDK Information Network (dkNET.org) used RRIDs to develop several tools to help scientists enhance research rigor and reproducibility. dkNET introduced Resource Reports, a detailed overview of each resource identified by an RRID, including the characteristics of the resource, any warning and alert information, citation metrics from the biomedical literature and validation and rating information. Resource Reports let a researcher “follow” a resource, receiving up to date information on the usage of the resources they used (or created) in the literature. dkNET also offers a Rigor and Reproducibility tool that can generate an authentication report for grant applications in support of the NIH mandate on authentication of key biological resources. RRIDs and the associated tools and services make it easier for information on resource performance to be tracked and disseminated.Support or Funding InformationNIH NIDDK Grant U24DK097771This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.