The evaluation of reliability and relevance of toxicity and ecotoxicity studies is an integral part of the risk assessment process. According to the REACH guideline (Guidance on information requirements and chemical safety assessment. Chapter R.4: Evaluation of available information) reliability and relevance are defined as follows:
Reliability - evaluating the inherent quality of a test report or publication relating to preferably standardised methodology and the way the experimental procedure and results are described to give evidence of the clarity and plausibility of the findings. Reliability of data is closely linked to the reliability of the test method used to generate the data.
Relevance - covering the extent to which data and tests are appropriate for a particular hazard identification or risk characterization.