Guidelines for

Reporting
Scientific
Studies: Why
do you need
them?
Reporting of Scientific Studies
❖Accurate reporting of scientific studies is most
important. Researchers use the studies as a base for
their own research.

❖Clinicians use them to plan the right treatment for

the patients.

❖The government health agencies use them to

design impactful preventive and treatment strategies.

❖Thus, if you don’t report the results accurately in

the scientific publications, they won’t provide any
value to the society and all your hard work will go
waste.
So, several guidelines are introduced to
ensure the results are reported in an
accurate manner. Here, we will discuss
the eleven guidelines that are commonly
used for reporting various types of
scientific studies.
 1) PRISMA
➢PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-analyses) is a guideline for proper
reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

➢It is also useful for critical appraisal of a published

systematic review.

➢The PRISMA statement comprises a checklist of 27

items, which are divided into the categories of title,
abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and
funding.

➢It also advocates the use of a flow diagram to present

the results in an effective manner.
 2) CONSORT
➢CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of
Reporting Trials) is a statement that guides the
reporting of randomized controlled trials.

➢The statement was first developed in 1996 to

remove any bias in reporting the results of randomized
clinical trials.

➢It comprises a 25-item checklist and is divided into

categories like title and abstract, introduction,
methods, results, discussion, and other information.
 3) STROBE
➢STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of
Observational studies in Epidemiology) is a
guideline for reporting observational studies like
cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies.

➢The observational studies previous to the

development of STROBE didn’t explain the
confounding variables nor had any reporting on the
method of selecting the study and control groups.
➢To overcome this inadequacy, STROBE came
into being in 2004.

➢It comprises a 22-item checklist under the

headings of title and abstract, introduction,
methods, results, discussion, and other information.

➢For genetic association studies, STROBE has

been extended to STREGA (Strengthening the
Reporting of Genetic Association studies).
 4) STARD

➢STARD (Standards for the Reporting of

Diagnostic accuracy studies) has been
developed for accurate reporting of diagnostic
and prognostic studies.

➢A survey about the diagnostic studies published

in medical journals between 1978 and 1993
revealed poor or mediocre quality.
➢They lacked a proper study design, proper
method, and difficulty in evaluating their results.

➢Thereafter, STARD came forth with the

checklist of 25 items under the following
headlines: title/abstract/keywords, introduction,
methods, results, and discussion.

➢A flow diagram is recommended to report the

methods used for patient recruitment and the
order in which the tests are carried out.
 5) SPIRIT
➢SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items:
Recommendations for Interventional Trials) was
created in 2007 for the reporting of scientific trial
protocols as many of them lacked information on
primary outcome, treatment allocation methods, and the
use of blinding in randomized trials.

➢It includes 33 items divided into the following

domains: administrative information, introduction,
methods, ethics and dissemination, and appendices. It
recommends a protocol in a specified format which
includes a table of contents, section headings, glossary,
and list of references.
 6) CARE

➢CARE (Consensus-based Clinical

Case Reporting) is developed to
increase the accuracy, transparency, and
usefulness of case reports.
 7) SRQR

➢SRQR (Standards for reporting qualitative

research) is formulated to define the standards for
reporting qualitative research and preserve
the requisite flexibility to accommodate various
paradigms, approaches, and methods used in them.

➢Consisting of 21 items, it requires the authors to

define and explain the key elements of each item and
provide examples from recently published articles.
 8) SQUIRE

➢SQUIRE (Standards for Quality

Improvement Reporting Excellence) guidelines
provide a framework to report any new study
conducted for improving the healthcare of the
community.
 9) CHEERS
➢CHEERS (Consolidated Health Economic
Evaluation Reporting Standards) is an attempt to
consolidate and update previous health economic
evaluation guidelines into a useful reporting guidance.

➢It is a user-friendly 24 item checklist with

recommendations divided into following categories:
title and abstract, introduction, methods, results,
discussion, and other information.
 10) ARRIVE

➢ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of

In Vivo Experiments) has been laid down to
report any area of bioscience research that uses
laboratory animals, to improve the quality of
information published and reduce the number
of animal studies.
11) AGREE Reporting Checklist

➢AGREE Reporting Checklist can be used

by practice guideline developers, guideline users,
funders, peer reviewers, and journal editors to
improve the comprehension, completeness, and
transparency of reporting in practice guidelines.
❖The purpose of having these reporting guidelines in
scientific research is to create a manual for the authors to
follow and promote total transparency, accurate reporting,
and easier assessment of the validity of reported research
findings.

❖Though it has been accomplished to some degree, but

still much needs to be done. It’s time that scientific
editors, authors, and journal reviewers assemble to figure
out how to best use these reporting guidelines.