STRANGE Framework Addresses Bias in Animal Behavior Research

The journal Ethology is the first to adopt the guidelines, aimed at clarifying experimental design and the potential biases within.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 5 min read

animal behavior, animal cognition, reproducibility, replication, publishing, research integrity, animal research, experimental design, data reporting

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ABOVE: STRANGE coauthor Mike Webster often works with species of shoaling fish that he captures using traps. To keep from biasing his samples, Webster uses different types of traps and nets to be sure he isn’t only capturing the boldest individuals.
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The world’s oldest behavioral biology journal, Ethology, announced on January 4 that it will be adopting a new experimental design and data reporting framework called STRANGE in an effort to address biases in animal behavior and cognition research. Moving forward, authors submitting manuscripts to the journal will need to evaluate their study animals for possible biases—factors such as genetics, personality differences, or prior experiences in research—and discuss how those facets can influence the study’s findings.

“Everybody knows that there are certain sampling biases that can affect the reproducibility and the generalizability of research findings in animal behavior, but quite often these are not declared,” says Christian Rutz, ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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