BP4NTA is excited to announce the publication of an article in Analytical Chemistry entitled “The Non-Targeted Analysis Study Reporting Tool (SRT): A Framework to Improve Research Transparency and Reproducibility”!
Why did BP4NTA develop the SRT?
Over the past few years, the BP4NTA working group has developed reference content about NTA study design, results reporting, and quality assurance. During this effort, BP4NTA members recognized a lack of universally accepted reporting standards for NTA studies that use mass spectrometry. This lack of reporting standards hinders transparency and reproducibility, makes consistent reviewing of NTA studies and proposals difficult, and is a barrier for new NTA researchers. The SRT was created to address this gap and provide a multi-disciplinary tool to the NTA community for assessing the quality of NTA study reporting.
What is the SRT?
The SRT is a living framework and evaluation rubric for assessing the quality of reporting in NTA studies. The SRT is organized by overarching NTA study chronology (with a structure of sections, categories, and sub-categories), with assigned scores and accompanying rationales based on the reporting quality in each sub-category. The SRT is available as a stand-alone, downloadable and fillable PDF or spreadsheet.
The ‘Example Information to Report’ column of the SRT provides representative examples relevant to each sub-category. Importantly, the BP4NTA reference content is organized by the same structure as the SRT, complementing the stand-alone tool and serving as a valuable informational resource for both new and experienced NTA researchers and reviewers.
The SRT uses a hybrid scoring system with combined color-coded and numerical scoring metrics. We note that the SRT is not intended to evaluate research quality/scientific merit, instead focusing on assessment of reporting quality. The ‘Rationale’ column of the SRT offers a space for reviewers to explain the assigned score for each sub-category, in keeping with typical peer review.
What is the manuscript about?
The article describes the development and intended uses of the SRT, presents the results of an evaluation that used recently published NTA studies to assess SRT efficacy, and highlights NTA reporting areas that need immediate improvement based on the evaluation results.
During the SRT evaluation, 11 reviewers applied the SRT to evaluate the quality of reporting in 8 published manuscripts. Authors of the evaluated papers also performed self-reviews. Overall, our analysis demonstrated that the SRT provides a valid structure to guide study design and manuscript writing, as well as to evaluate NTA reporting quality. Comparison of peer-reviewer and self-assigned scores indicated that SRT use for self-evaluation will strengthen reporting practices.
Results also provided insight regarding current reporting practices. We observed high scores in the three Study Design sub-categories and the Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry methods sub-categories, indicating good existing reporting practices. On the other hand, Analytical Sequence, Data Processing & Identification, and the two QA/QC sub-categories consistently received low scores across the 8 evaluated papers, indicating that reporting improvements are needed in the field. Our evaluation particularly highlighted the need to define and implement universal best practices for NTA QA/QC.
Check out the full study at:
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02621
How can you use the SRT?
The SRT can be used by researchers as a study design tool and during manuscript/proposal writing, as well as during manuscript/proposal review to inform editors and decision-makers. Although the manuscript presents a static version of the SRT, integration with the BP4NTA website allows continued evolution as the NTA research community’s needs change.
For editors: The spreadsheet version of the SRT (downloadable at the link below) has a plotting functionality that enables quick visual comparison of multiple reviewer scores! We hope this facilitates use of the SRT results during the peer-review process.
To access downloadable PDF and spreadsheet versions of the SRT, head to:
www.nontargetedanalysis.org/SRT
If you use the SRT, please cite:
Katherine T. Peter, Allison L. Phillips, Ann M. Knolhoff, Piero R. Gardinali, Carlos A. Manzano, Kelsey E. Miller, Manuel Pristner, Lyne Sabourin, Mark W. Sumarah, Benedikt Warth, Jon R. Sobus. The Non-Targeted Analysis Study Reporting Tool (SRT): A Framework to Improve Research Transparency and Reproducibility. Analytical Chemistry, 2021. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02621
If you need additional information about a given sub-category or terminology, access the accompanying reference content (www.nontargetedanalysis.org/reference-content) and glossary (www.nontargetedanalysis.org/glossary).
Send BP4NTA your feedback about the SRT!
Questions about the SRT? Ideas to improve the SRT? Interested in implementing the SRT as part of the editorial and peer-review process at your journal? Submit comments via the portal at www.nontargetedanalysis.org/SRT!
