{"id":2325,"date":"2016-04-04T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T18:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/flowcytometry\/resources-2\/guide-to-rigor-and-reproducibility-for-flow-cytometry-experiments\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T11:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T16:12:10","slug":"guide-to-rigor-and-reproducibility-for-flow-cytometry-experiments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/flowcytometry\/resources\/guide-to-rigor-and-reproducibility-for-flow-cytometry-experiments\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Rigor and Reproducibility for Flow Cytometry Experiments"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may use this as a template for wording in your grants and publications to address Rigor and Reproducibility for your Flow Cytometry Experiments run in the UNC Flow Cytometry Core Facility.<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eight steps to Rigorous and Reproducible Experiments in Biomolecular Research at UNC:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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  1. \n

    If using a core facility, consult <\/strong>with the core staff in the planning stage. Consult with a statistician if you need help developing a Power Analysis to assure that your results will be adequately powered.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n

    Design your experiment with sufficient controls<\/strong> (rigor) and replicates<\/strong> (reproducibility).<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n

    Assure that ALL of your reagents (antibodies, cell lines, mice) are fully validated<\/strong> (see below).<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  4. \n

    Have a clear and detailed protoco<\/strong>l (SOP) and data analysis plan that can be easily followed. Assure that the protocol is strictly followed or that any deviation is well documented.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n

    Assure that the staff or students performing the experiment are well trained<\/strong> and understand each step and the importance of performing them precisely (rigor again).<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  6. \n

    Use only well-maintained instrumentation<\/strong>, preferably maintained and operated in a core facility with expert staff (see #1 above).<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  7. \n

    Document all steps<\/strong>, reagents, equipment and data analysis methods used in the experiment. Assure that the both the documentation and the data itself are properly stored in a safe data management repository.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
  8. \n

    Acknowledge<\/strong> the Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA016086)<\/em>, Grant-supported instrumentation<\/a> and core staff in publications.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Consider Glenn Begley’s Six Rules for Reproducibility:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
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    1. \n

      Were the studies blinded?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
    2. \n

      Were all the results shown?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
    3. \n

      Were the experiments repeated<\/a>?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
    4. \n

      Were the positive and negative controls shown?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
    5. \n

      Were the reagents validated?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n
    6. \n

      Were the statistical tests appropriate?<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Guide to Rigor and Reproducibility for Flow Cytometry Experiments in the UNC Flow Cytometry Core Facility<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

      I.<\/strong> Multicolor Flow Cytometry<\/span>: all flow cytometry experiments will be run using replicate [animals\/cell lines, etc] according to recommendations based on <\/span>power calculations<\/a>.<\/span><\/h4>\n
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