Why are reporting guidelines so essential?

Why are reporting guidelines so essential?

» by LGC

We’ve all probably heard the Chinese proverb that it’s not the destination that is important but the journey. Well the same can be said of scientific research: it’s not only the results that matter but the methodology and processes that lead us to them.

OK, so this may be a little facetious but the concept is not and it’s the reason why guidelines for the reporting of scientific experiments have been emerging over the past decade across scientific disciplines – including the Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines.

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a technique widely used in molecular biology to identify and quantify DNA. PCR works by targeted amplification of DNA by several orders of magnitude to enable identification and measurement of specific sequences. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), also called real-time polymerase chain reaction, is a laboratory technique based on the PCR, which is used to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule.

In order to encourage increased transparency in reported data, the MIQE guidelines were developed and published in 2009. But why is this so important and, five years later, what impact have the guidelines had?