What are publication reporting checklists and why are they so important?

Abstract

Authors of research papers often forget to report specific details about their study, which are important for readers, journal editors and peer reviewers to know. This can have implications such as delaying publication and preventing their work from being cited or replicated by other researchers. The purpose of this short editorial is to highlight the role of publication reporting checklists, discuss the importance of completing these checklists and citing these when submitting a paper to a journal and disseminating findings. Every research study, literature review, case study, quality improvement or service evaluation project should start with a clear plan. This plan is called a protocol. The protocol should clearly outline the rationale for doing the study/project, what the aims/objectives are, what will be done, how it will be done, how data will be collected, collated and analysed and a plan for dissemination and implementation of the results. By way of an example, protocol development for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is usually guided by the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT)checklist. 1 The SPIRIT checklist is a 33 item checklist that makes recommendations on how a study should be planned and conducted. 1 However, even if studies are well planned and conducted, if poorly reported (without transparency), interpretation of the results may be questioned. As a result, the results generated from such research studies are wasted. 2 Reporting guidelines and checklists have been developed for a wide variety of research types and study designs such as RCTs, observational studies, quality improvement projects, qualitative research, surveys, Delphi studies and systematic reviews. 3 These guidelines and checklists significantly enhance the quality, transparency and consistency of manuscripts. Research that is well reported, and in accordance with the appropriate checklist allows readers, other researchers and reviewers to fully understand how the study was conducted, and will allow researchers to replicate your study if they desire. 4 However, reporting research findings in a transparent manner is also important as an ethical obligation. 5 Reporting checklists can serve as a tool to ensure transparency in reporting in a way that is ethically sound.Reporting checklists are designed to make it easy for researchers and authors to follow and should be used when planning and also when writing their manuscripts. Some academic journals now require authors to submit the completed checklist of an appropriate reporting guideline for the respective study design at submission, indicating

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“…Several studies of different designs were given a ‘cannot tell’ score in varied categories as the information was not available in the included or any referenced article. To avoid this, authors should use a reporting checklist relevant to their study design, such as the CONSORT checklist for RCTs or the COREQ checklist for qualitative research 80 …”

Why it is important for nurses to understand basic statistics

“…Utilizing reporting guidelines for research article drafting has been endorsed by a number of medical journals, including Nursing in Critical Care. 7 In line with that, Nursing in Critical Care also published a document on statistical guidelines and requirement, which engages authors to follow these reporting guidelines.…”

“…The EQUATOR network is a comprehensive online resource, which contains reporting guidelines for different types of studies, such as STROBE 4 for observational studies, CONSORT 5 for randomized trials and PRISMA 6 for systematic reviews. Utilizing reporting guidelines for research article drafting has been endorsed by a number of medical journals, including Nursing in Critical Care 7 . In line with that, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/14785153/homepage/statisticalguidelines.html also published a document on statistical guidelines and requirement, which engages authors to follow these reporting guidelines.…”

Checklists for reporting research in Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine: How to choose a proper one for your manuscript?

“…Authors of research papers often -and for various reasons -fail to report specific details about their study. 1 In response to the poor quality of reporting medical research, guidelines intended for various types of study designs have been developed. Implementation of these guidelines will lead to improvements in the quality of medical research reporting -to accurate reporting, complete transparency and easier assessment of the validity of reported research findings.…”