Reporting guidelines for primary research: Saying what you did

Abstract

Reporting guidelines aim to facilitate publication of a full and accurate description of research conducted. The motivations for a full and accurate description of research is to enable reproduction of the study, assessment of bias, extraction of data from the study, and to fulfill an ethical obligation to maximize the utility of research findings. Many reporting guidelines exist and most are based on a specific study design such as randomized controlled trials (CONSORT statement) and observational studies (STROBE statement). The REFLECT statement focuses on randomized control trials in livestock and food safety studies. The REFLECT statement has increased emphasis on conveying information about animal housing, group level allocation and challenge studies. Guidelines can be used by authors, reviewers and editors to provide readers with a full and accurate description of the work conducted.