Data describing the results of a survey of researchers on commercial reagent antibody use and a systematic analysis of the use of 97 poorly performing antibodies in the published literature

This dataset includes 4 files: Focus_group_guide has the information that describes how n=3 focus groups, each with n=4 participants were carried out. In order to prevent accidental disclosure of sensitive information and the identity of participant the transcripts of the focus groups are not included. Semi-structured topic guide and supporting materials used to facilitate three virtual focus groups (n=12 participants total) exploring antibody selection and validation practices. Includes participant information sheet, consent form, pre-session questionnaire, facilitator topic guide, and example antibody data sheets used as discussion prompts. survey_instrument = Online survey questionnaire administered via Microsoft Forms to biomedical researchers Antibody_user_survey_data = contains anonymised data from the survey respondants Antibodies_in_publications_data = Publication-level dataset for 766 papers identified via CiteAb and Google Scholar as citing the 35 antibodies (from 97 poorly performing antibodies with associated publications) included in the literature analysis. For each publication, records include: antibody catalogue number and commercial status (discontinued/continued), validation evidence (IWGAV-aligned or absent), and explicitly reported biological sample counts (animal, human tissue, human primary cell, and cell line samples) extracted from figure legends and methods sections.