Reporting Guidelines

CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, COREQ

Reporting guidelines are checklists that specify the minimum information a study must report to be interpretable and reproducible. They improve transparency and allow readers to assess methodological quality. Key guidelines include CONSORT for randomized controlled trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies, and COREQ for qualitative research. Many journals require authors to submit the relevant completed checklist alongside their manuscript.

What Is a Reporting Guideline?

A reporting guideline is a structured checklist listing the minimum information items that must appear in a manuscript so that readers can evaluate, reproduce, or include the study in a meta-analysis. These guidelines do not directly measure methodological quality; they audit what has been reported. Researchers complete the relevant checklist during writing, noting the page or paragraph where each item is addressed, and then submit the completed checklist alongside the manuscript to the journal.

Major Guidelines and Their Scope

CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) provides a 25-item checklist and flow diagram for randomized controlled trials, covering allocation, blinding, and outcome analysis. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) offers a 27-item guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) addresses cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) provides 32 criteria covering the research team, study design, and analysis sections of qualitative manuscripts.

How to Apply a Reporting Guideline in Practice

The researcher first identifies the study design and downloads the relevant guideline from the EQUATOR Network (equator-network.org). During writing, each checklist item is reviewed and the location in the manuscript where the information appears is noted by page or paragraph number. Some items pertain to the methods section, others to results or discussion. The completed checklist is submitted as a supplementary file. During peer review, editors and reviewers use it to identify missing elements, making the revision process before publication more efficient and transparent.

Common Misconceptions and Good Practice Tips

The most common misconception is treating reporting guidelines as a formality completed just before submission rather than a planning tool. In fact, they can guide study design from the outset. Another frequent error is merely ticking checklist boxes without specifying where in the manuscript each item is addressed, which complicates peer review. Selecting the wrong guideline is also common; for example, PRISMA is not appropriate for a non-systematic narrative review. Using the EQUATOR Network's guideline-selection tool helps researchers identify the most suitable checklist for their study type.

Key terms

CONSORT: 25-item international standard guideline for reporting randomized controlled trials.
PRISMA: 27-item guideline for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
STROBE: International checklist strengthening the reporting of observational epidemiological studies.
COREQ: 32-item consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research studies.
EQUATOR Network: International platform that compiles and disseminates reporting guidelines for health research.