5.4
SciPi 770: Best Practices: Detecting and Quantifying Micro- Nanoplastics (MNP) in Biological Tissues
Please indicate if you agree with the following statements:
Results
| Agree | Disagree (please explain) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes | 100.00% 9 | 0.00% 0 | 9 |
| Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) | 88.89% 8 | 11.11% 1 | 9 |
| All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess | 66.67% 6 | 33.33% 3 | 9 |
All experts unanimously agree that procedural blanks should report mean and standard deviation for all analytes. Similarly, 8 out of 9 experts agree that representative data (chromatograms, spectra, etc.) must be reported, with only Expert 8 disagreeing, citing this as "unconventional in analytical chemistry."
On making raw data available to other scientists, there is more division: 6 experts agree while 3 disagree. Those who disagree cite practical concerns including:
- Resource implications and storage costs that may disadvantage researchers from low-middle income regions (Expert 9)
- Proprietary software formats, large file sizes, and institutional restrictions (Expert 2 suggests "available upon request" as an alternative)
- Software compatibility issues and deviation from analytical chemistry conventions (Expert 8)
Supporters of raw data sharing emphasize its importance for transparency, reproducibility, and enabling additional analysis by readers with "unique experiences" (Expert 5).
Summary Generated by AI
Answer Explanations
- Expert 9
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 1 0 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 0 1 While archiving of raw data to be made available to other researchers is best practice; there are resource implications - e.g. costs of data storage servers - that may disproportionately impact on researchers from low-middle income regions. - Expert 3
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 1 0 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 1 0 In most cases, this is already done, either by providing these data in supporting information sections, or making them available in repositories. - Expert 4
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 1 0 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 1 0 I especially support the last statement on the raw data made available and this needs to be complemented with as many details of the methods and equipment in order to allow anyone interested to re-evaluate the data and the data processing. The response directly indicates that I also agree on the first two statements as these should be part of the reporting of 'All raw data...'. This is especially important given the current state of the art and the rapid developments with regard to the analytical aspects of plastics in complex media. - Expert 2
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 1 0 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 0 1 Even though sharing the raw data could help improve transparency and reproducibility of some studies, sometimes, the full release of all data may be forbidden due to proprietary software formats, large file sizes, or some institutional restrictions. In my opinion, a more practical solution would be to make sure that the raw data could be made available upon request. - Expert 5
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 1 0 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 1 0 The more data available to the reader, the more likely the reader is able to understand an author's findings, as well as the reader being able to develop additional conclusions (because of the readers unique experiences) - Expert 8
Statement Agree Disagree (please explain) For procedural blanks, mean and standard deviation must be reported for all analytes 1 0 Representative data must be reported (e.g., chromatograms, mass spectra, raw spectra, etc.) 0 1 All raw data must be made available for other scientists to review and reprocess 0 1 It is not the convention to share all chromatograms and underlying mass spectra. These often need a specific software to open them, so it seems illogical to share them. I dont have anything against it, but it is unconventional in analytical chemistry.
Expert 4
07/31/2025 05:33Expert 2
07/31/2025 07:23Expert 5
08/01/2025 08:33