In our previous editorial [1], we shared our vision for developing a better data sharing infrastructure in the field of Otolaryngology. While data sharing and the sharing of codes are important aspects of reproducibility and replication of scientific research, we would like to familiarize prospective authors with other important aspects that need to considered for publication in JARO.

JARO has since its inception, published research on animal models and in humans. These complicated in vivo settings, which are very common in hearing and vestibular research, a multitude of variables need to be explicitly described such as strains and substrains, age and sex of the animals, the time of the day when the experiments were carried out, the exact composition of the diets that the animals were fed with, and the housing conditions (cage type, bedding, temperature, humidity, and light/dark cycle). In general, we recommend authors to follow the ARRIVE guidelines.

While these have been established for clearer reporting, authors should also consider the PREPARE guidelines when designing their studies. Indeed, there are several aspects that can improve publication quality, both in pre-clinical and clinical research, such as previous sample size estimates and power analysis as well as randomization and blinding. For instance, when performing systematic reviews on animal research, quality of the publication is often evaluated by means of reporting quality. The NC3R in the UK has pioneered such reflections, and their experimental design assistant (EDA) can help authors in designing robust and reliable studies.

In addition, as soon as experiments involve the use and welfare of animals, it requires an ethical approval that must be stated in the manuscript together with the number of the application and the institution that granted permission. Likewise for research involving humans must also state who approved the study and whether informed consent was obtained from the participants.

The sharing of data remains an important component for open science for studies that involve large data sets such as RNA sequencing or genome wide association studies, data must be deposited in suitable public repositories to maximize the availability and the reuse by the scientific community. Although this is not mandatory until acceptance it is good practice to deposit the data as early as possible so that reviewer can also access such data. In this regard, sharing computer codes or algorithms that were specifically developed for the analysis will help reviewers to verify the integrity of your work before being published and shared with the community.

We understand that incorporating this information into a manuscript can be a time-consuming endeavor, yet it is indispensable for guaranteeing the reproducibility and reliability of the reported results. Higher reporting standards in the field of otolaryngology will in the end benefit the scientific community as a whole.