Introduction
“Research publications and data nowadays should be publicly available on the internet and, theoretically, usable for everyone to develop further research, products, or services. The long-term accessibility of research data is, therefore, fundamental in the economy of the research production process.
💡 However, the availability of data is not sufficient by itself, but also their quality must be verifiable. Measures to ensure reuse and reproducibility need to include the entire research life cycle, from the experimental design to the generation of data, quality control, statistical analysis, interpretation, and validation of the results.
Hence, high quality records, particularly for providing a string of documents for the verifiable origin of data, are essential elements that can act as a certificate for potential users (customers). These records also improve the traceability and transparency of data and processes, therefore, improving the reliability of results. Standards for data acquisition, analysis, and documentation have been fostered in the last decade driven by grassroot initiatives of researchers and organizations such as the Research Data Alliance (RDA).
Nevertheless, what is still largely missing in the life science academic research are agreed procedures for complex routine research workflows. Here, well-crafted documentation like standard operating procedures (SOPs) offer clear direction and instructions specifically designed to avoid deviations as an absolute necessity for reproducibility.
10 Rules for SOP Writing
Therefore, this paper provides a standardized workflow that explains step by step how to write an SOP to be used as a starting point for appropriate research documentation.
â—½ 1: Knowing when to write an SOP
â—½ 2: Write the introduction: describe the purpose (the why)
â—½ 3: Set up the document structure
â—½ 4: Fill in the content
â—½ 5: References and definitions: Specify tools required for the task
â—½ 6: Set up responsibilities and nominate reviewers and approvers
â—½ 7: Test with a colleague: Perform training
â—½ 8: Review and approve
â—½ 9: Update document: Specify validation and periodic review date
â—½ 10: Publish
“Nowadays digital technologies and advanced computational methods are an integral part of daily laboratory practice. To best manage the generated data and avoid reproducibility issues, scientists need to implement FAIR data principles, suitable DMPs, and appropriate documentation.
The lack of reproducibility within laboratory research discourages successful implementation of the wide-spread adoption of research results in the scientific community. One way to improve it is to provide consistency and traceability of existing standards and laboratory practices that are achievable with precise and clearly written SOPs.”
Reference
Hollmann S, Frohme M, Endrullat C, Kremer A, D’Elia D, Regierer B, Nechyporenko A; Cost Action CA15110. Ten simple rules on how to write a standard operating procedure. PLoS Comput Biol. 2020 Sep 3;16(9):e1008095. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008095. PMID: 32881868; PMCID: PMC7470745.