[More than 200 reporting guidelines--and counting].
Reporting guidelines have been developed for randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, and many other types of studies. Most of these have a checklist of essential items that have to be included in every study report. Describing these essential items enables readers to better judge the validity, relevance and applicability of study findings. The website of the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) network now lists more than 200 such reporting guidelines. While they have been endorsed by many journals and other organizations, uptake has been incomplete. The implicit assumption in many guidelines was that editors of scientific journals would police authors, thereby enforcing the use of the checklists. We argue that the groups responsible for reporting guidelines could put more effort into the development of tools for authors, reviewers and editors to facilitate the implementation of these guidelines. This would contribute to completeness and transparency in reporting clinical and biomedical research.
Academisch Medisch Centrum, afd. Klinische epidemiologie, biostatistiek en bio-informatica, Universiteit van Amsterdam.
Patrick M
PM
Bossuyt
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000592:standards*; D057189:Checklist; D006801:Humans; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic