Myths and methodologies : Standardisation in human physiology research—should we control the controllables?

Journal article


Merrell, Lucy H., Perkin, Oliver J., Bradshaw, Louise, Collier-Bain, Harrison D., Collins, Adam J., Davies, Sophie, Eddy, Rachel, Hickman, James A., Nicholas, Anna P., Rees, Daniel, Spellanzon, Bruno, James, James, McKay, Alannah K. A., Smith, Harry Alex, Turner, James Edward, Koumanov, Francoise, Maher, Jennifer, Thompson, Dylan, Gonzalez, Javier T. and Betts, James A.. (2024). Myths and methodologies : Standardisation in human physiology research—should we control the controllables? Experimental Physiology. pp. 1099 - 1108. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP091557
AuthorsMerrell, Lucy H., Perkin, Oliver J., Bradshaw, Louise, Collier-Bain, Harrison D., Collins, Adam J., Davies, Sophie, Eddy, Rachel, Hickman, James A., Nicholas, Anna P., Rees, Daniel, Spellanzon, Bruno, James, James, McKay, Alannah K. A., Smith, Harry Alex, Turner, James Edward, Koumanov, Francoise, Maher, Jennifer, Thompson, Dylan, Gonzalez, Javier T. and Betts, James A.
Abstract

The premise of research in human physiology is to explore a multifaceted system whilst identifying one or a few outcomes of interest. Therefore, the control of potentially confounding variables requires careful thought regarding the extent of control and complexity of standardisation. One common factor to control prior to testing is diet, as food and fluid provision may deviate from participants’ habitual diets, yet a self-report and replication method can be flawed by under-reporting. Researchers may also need to consider standardisation of physical activity, whether it be through familiarisation trials, wash-out periods, or guidance on levels of physical activity to be achieved before trials. In terms of pharmacological agents, the ethical implications of standardisation require researchers to carefully consider how medications, caffeine consumption and oral contraceptive prescriptions may affect the study. For research in females, it should be considered whether standardisation between- or within-participants in regards to menstrual cycle phase is most relevant. The timing of measurements relative to various other daily events is relevant to all physiological research and so it can be important to standardise when measurements are made. This review summarises the areas of standardisation which we hope will be considered useful to anyone involved in human physiology research, including when and how one can apply standardisation to various contexts.

Keywordscontrol; physiology; standardisation
Year01 Jan 2024
JournalExperimental Physiology
Journal citationpp. 1099 - 1108
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US)
ISSN1469-445X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1113/EP091557
Web address (URL)https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/EP091557
Open accessOpen access
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range1099 - 1108
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online19 May 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted05 Feb 2024
Deposited05 Jul 2024
Additional information

© 2024 The Authors. Experimental Physiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Physiological Society.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Place of publicationUnited Kingdom
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