这张照片怎么了?- 可重复性和现实主义

作为BMC Biology正在进行的有关精心设计人物重要性的持续编辑系列的一部分,Graham Bell讨论了可重复性的透明度和实用主义。

我们系列“这张照片有什么问题?”的最初想法是做一些有用和建设性的事情,以满足当前的关注研究结果的可重复性。因此,我们收集了如何避免分析,误导数据的误导性和无意中疏忽犯罪的简短示例。

But we also have to recognize that the ‘ideal’ ways to handle data can be complicated by the practicalities of the laboratory or the field, or thwarted by biological reality.

让我们逼真

For example, our piece onbiological vs technical replicates,,,,a fairly simple picture that becomes more complicated when you consider the different ways that data might actually be collected.

在我们的示例中,我们解释说,采取措施ment 7 times on one mouse would be 7 technical replicates; and 7 different knockout mice would be 7 biological replicates. But what about 7 different mice that originally came from the same knockout mother? Technical or biological? We conferred with our Consultant Editors…

分层重复和透明度

…and our understanding is that there can be different ‘tiers’ of biological replication – the mice from one knockout mother would count as biological replicates, representing biological variation, rather than technical – but at a lower tier, since they have come from the same mother, and are not ‘as independent’.

It can be even trickier with cell cultures – where all cell lines ultimately derive from the same source – and可以在LabStats上找到有用的底漆

实验也有实际的限制 - 如果一个实验测量3个生物学重复,但是其中2个是在一天的一天中测量的,第二天是1个生物学重复,那么在分析中应该如何考虑?在这种情况下 - 如果可能的话,可以避免,但实际上是不可避免的 - 虽然重复是生物学的,但正确的是,作者可以准确解释如何执行和分析实验。然后,人们可以清楚地理解所做的事情,并考虑对他们是否合理。完美可能无法实现,但透明度是。

Who needs statistics anyway?

什么是现实或必要的问题,最直接面对biological vs statistical significance

Sometimes, showing qualitative data like immunofluorescence without quantification can be a problem.

但同样,有时可能没有必要绝对量化所有内容,以指向一个星号显示统计差异,如果差异基本上毫无疑问是明确的,则可能没有必要。再说一次,如果不是,统计意义可能并不多。据称,一位备受尊敬的科学家曾经向一名学生说过一些图表,“如果我看不到门上的区别,那就没有一个。”

When nothing is wrong with the picture – as such

And then, the picture may not be the problem.

The analysis or representation – which might be fine – may not reflect a flaw in the underlying methodology. Once the experiment is done, it may be too late to apply an appropriate statistical test. As the great Ronald Fischer remarked, “To consult the statistician after an experiment is finished is often merely to ask him to conduct a post mortem examination. He can perhaps say what the experiment died of.”

一个人可能会多次重复实验,看到存在<0.05的p值,然后击中魔术数,而不是再做一次。这是错误的方式。正确的方法是从一开始就决定N将为50,并接受所提供的任何意义。BMC Research指出的最新论文关于医学文献的报道,P值的分布偏向偏斜,其值紧接在0.05以下的偏差低于0.05以上,这表明在研究过程中的某个时刻存在问题。

盲小巷和覆盖的轨道

条形图或漂亮的共聚焦图像仅仅是基本数据的表示,可能不能完全反映生物学的混乱和真实人进行的真实实验室工作的不可避免的不完美之处。我们无法完美 - 但是,在报告研究中,认真的透明度使人们可以自己决定数据的实力,并在报告的调查中自信地建立。

In this connection, I can’t resist quoting the opening lines of理查德·费曼(Richard Feynman)的诺贝尔演讲1965年:“我们有一个习惯写在科学期刊上发表文章的文章,以使工作尽可能完成,涵盖所有曲目,不必担心盲人小巷或描述您首先有错误的想法,等等。因此,没有任何地方可以以尊严的方式出版您为了完成这项工作而实际做的事情。”

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