What Is a Reporting Guideline?
Looking for the full method? Read the detailed guide: How to Write the Methods Section.
A reporting guideline is a checklist, sometimes with a flow diagram, that sets out the minimum information a research report should contain so that readers can understand, judge and reuse the study. Different guidelines exist for different designs.
Example
Invented for teaching: CONSORT for randomised trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies and CARE for case reports. The EQUATOR Network library helps you find the right one.
Common misunderstanding
A reporting guideline is not a tool for judging study quality or a method manual. It tells you what to report, not how to conduct the study well. Following one does not make a flawed study sound, but it makes flaws visible.
Learn more
See How to Write the Methods Section.
References and further reading
- EQUATOR Network: Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (reporting guideline library). Link
- Schulz KF, Altman DG, Moher D; CONSORT Group. CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. BMJ. 2010;340:c332. doi:10.1136/bmj.c332
- von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, et al. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. BMJ. 2007;335:806-808. doi:10.1136/bmj.39335.541782.AD
- Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n71. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71
Related reading
This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.