Inadequate treatment of taxonomic information prevents replicability of most zoological research
Inadequate treatment of taxonomic information prevents replicability of most zoological research
复制标题
对分类信息的处理不充分阻碍了大多数动物学研究的可重复性
DOI：
10.1139/cjz-2020-0027
复制
发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
L. Packer
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Spencer K Monckton;S. Johal;L. Packer
我们评估了 2017 年在 7 种动物学期刊上发表的 710 篇论文中有关分类学鉴定的信息的质量。我们发现，只有 10.7% 的论文引用了鉴定方法，29.2% 的论文提供了标本级材料供以后验证，6.9% 的论文指出了应用于研究动物的分类单元概念。只有 4.0% 提供了所有这三种做法的详细信息，而几乎三分之二的人没有提供任何信息。无脊椎动物论文比脊椎动物论文更有可能提供识别方法和存款凭证，但很少提供分类单元概念，而且这三种做法在任何类别中都不常见。简而言之，我们的数据表明大多数动物学研究都是不可复制的。为了解决这个问题，期刊应要求提交的稿件满足以下准则：（1）必须说明用于识别所研究分类群的方法； (2) 必须引用支持这些鉴定的文献； (3) 必须注明适用于物种级分类群的分类群概念； (4) 标本级材料应可供以后检查。我们认为，不符合这些指导方针的研究是不可复制的。我们为作者如何更好地记录研究动物的识别方式并允许其他人验证其识别提供建议，这对于透明、可复制和最终科学的动物学研究是必要的。
We evaluated the quality of information about taxonomic identifications in 710 papers published in seven zoological journals in 2017. We found that only 10.7% of papers cited identification methods, 29.2% made available specimen-level material for later verification, and 6.9% indicated taxon concepts applied to studied animals. Only 4.0% provided details about all three practices, while almost two-thirds provided none. Invertebrate papers were more likely than vertebrate papers to provide identification methods and deposit vouchers, but taxon concepts were rarely provided, and none of the three practices were common in any category. In short, our data suggest that most zoological research is irreplicable. To address this problem, journals should require submitted manuscripts to meet the following guidelines: (1) methods used to identify studied taxa must be stated; (2) literature supporting these identifications must be cited; (3) taxon concept(s) applied to species-level taxa must be indicated; (4) specimen-level material should be available for later examination. We argue that research which falls short of these guidelines is not replicable. We provide recommendations for how authors can better document how studied animals are identified and permit others to verify their identifications, which is necessary for transparent, replicable, and ultimately scientific zoological research.