title: Making prospective registration of observational research a reality.
abstract: The vast majority of health-related observational studies are not prospectively registered and the advantages of registration have not been fully appreciated. Nonetheless, international standards require approval of study protocols by an independent ethics committee before the study can begin. We suggest that there is an ethical and scientific imperative to publicly preregister key information from newly approved protocols, which should be required by funders. Ultimately, more complete information may be publicly available by disclosing protocols, analysis plans, data sets, and raw data.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Program, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, E-08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dal-Ré
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ioannidis
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bracken
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Buffler
authors.forename: An-Wen
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Eduardo L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
authors.forename: Elisabete
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weiderpass
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D006801:Humans; D064887:Observational Studies as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies