The Cochrane Methodology Register Issue 2 2009

This bibliography is intended to help those who are new to the science of reviewing to find additional material of interest, and those who are already immersed in it to find something new. The bibliography will be progressively developed and refined by contributors to The Cochrane Collaboration and others. The broad intention is to include all published reports of empirical studies of methods used in reviews, as well as methodological studies that are directly relevant to doing a review, such as empirical studies of the association between research methods and bias in randomised controlled trials. Details of ongoing methodological research are also included. Books, conference proceedings and special journal issues devoted to the topic of systematic reviews and meta-analysis have been included, but in general their constituent chapters and articles have not been listed separately. Articles introducing systematic reviews and meta-analysis to a wide audience have been included, as well as others addressing specific issues of relevance; but a number of general articles directed at specialist audiences have not been listed. The inclusion of each record is subject to the approval of Mike Clarke, Sally Hopewell or Andy Oxman. All records have been assigned at least one of the terms listed below.

The content of the Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR) is being constantly expanded upon as a direct result of an extensive handsearching programme and the development of a series of search strategies in MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify relevant reports (as detailed in this document). This activity is funded by the National Institute for Health Research in England.

Suggestions

Suggestions for additions to CMR are most welcome. Please send these, together with copies of any articles that should be considered for inclusion (and other suggestions for improvements) to Sally Hopewell or Anne Eisinga (see ‘Contact details’ below).

What's new in the CMR?

There are 315 new references appearing for the first time in Issue 2, 2009 of The Cochrane Library.

How to search the CMR

·        The whole string of words, beginning with the prefix CMR, is an index term.

·        All index terms consist of at least two concepts, the prefix CMR and a term or a phrase.

·        Most records have been assigned more than one index term.

·        A term or a phrase that is part of one index term might also be part of another index term.

·        To search the register using CMR codes, go to Advanced Search.

·        Type the CMR code(s) where it says Search for and select Keywords from the drop-down menu.

·        CMR codes need editing before using them as search terms.

·        Leave out the prefix CMR and the colon (:) that follows.

·        Phrases should be enclosed with double quotation marks.

·        Hyphens between CMR code concepts must be replaced with the logical operator AND (e.g “diagnostic test accuracy” AND “search strategies”).

·        Any other hyphens in a CMR code concept should be left as they are (e.g. non-trials, meta-analysis).

·        Do not use the CMR list headings REVIEW METHODOLOGY, EVALUATION METHODOLOGY or OTHER METHODOLOGY as a CMR code concept.

 

Index terms

REVIEW METHODOLOGY

Systematic reviews

CMR: Systematic reviews - general

CMR: Systematic reviews - discussions

CMR: Systematic reviews - history and epidemiology of reviews

CMR: Systematic reviews - comparisons

CMR: Systematic reviews - complex interventions

CMR: Systematic reviews - economic analysis

CMR: Systematic reviews - systematic review of reviews

Problem formulation

CMR: Problem formulation

Study identification

CMR: Study identification - general

CMR: Study identification - publication bias

CMR: Study identification - language bias

CMR: Study identification - language bias - national bias

CMR: Study identification - duplicate publication

CMR: Study identification - search strategies - general

CMR: Study identification - search strategies - trials

CMR: Study identification - search strategies - non-trials

CMR: Study identification - prospective registration - general

CMR: Study identification - prospective registration - trials

CMR: Study identification - prospective registration - non-trials

CMR: Study identification - citation bias

CMR: Study identification - citation error

CMR: Study identification - citation analysis

CMR: Study identification – internet

CMR: Study identification – response bias

Data collection

CMR: Data collection - general

CMR: Data collection - blinding and reproducibility

CMR: Data collection - individual patient data - general methods

CMR: Data collection - individual patient data - IPD vs other types of meta- analysis

CMR: Data collection - individual patient data - IPD & non IPD in a meta- analysis

CMR: Data collection - unpublished data

CMR: Data collection - data entry

CMR: Data collection – strategies to improve questionnaire response

Critical appraisal

CMR: Critical appraisal - general

CMR: Critical appraisal - scales and checklists - general

CMR: Critical appraisal - scales and checklists - trials

CMR: Critical appraisal - scales and checklists - non-trials

CMR: Critical appraisal - incorporation in reviews

CMR: Critical appraisal - internet

Meta-Analysis

CMR: Meta-analysis - general

CMR: Meta-analysis - general discussions

CMR: Meta-analysis - quantitative methods - general

CMR: Meta-analysis - quantitative methods - empirical studies

CMR: Meta-analysis - quantitative methods - discussions

CMR: Meta-analysis - heterogeneity

CMR: Meta-analysis - models

CMR: Meta-analysis - dichotomous data

CMR: Meta-analysis - survival data

CMR: Meta-analysis - ordinal data

CMR: Meta-analysis - continuous data

CMR: Meta-analysis - mixed data

CMR: Meta-analysis - crossover trials

CMR: Meta-analysis - group allocation

CMR: Meta-analysis - different endpoints

CMR: Meta-analysis - Quality of Life

CMR: Meta-analysis - economic data

CMR: Meta-analysis - observational data

CMR: Meta-analysis - missing data

CMR: Meta-analysis - multiple comparisons

CMR: Meta-analysis - sensitivity analyses

CMR: Meta-analysis - Bayesian

CMR: Meta-analysis - qualitative data

CMR: Meta-analysis - indirect comparisons

CMR: Meta-analysis - updating and cumulative meta-analysis

CMR: Meta-analysis - prospective meta-analysis

CMR: Meta-analysis - software

CMR: Meta-analysis - subgroup analysis

CMR: Meta-analysis - rare events

CMR: Meta-analysis - regression analysis

CMR: Meta-analysis - interrupted time series studies

CMR: Meta-analysis - sequential trials

CMR: Meta-analysis - dose response

CMR: Meta-analysis - simulation

CMR: Meta-analysis - non-randomised studies

CMR: Meta-analysis – N of 1 trials

CMR: Meta-analysis - change scores

CMR: Meta-analysis – learning curves

CMR: Meta-analysis – small study effects

CMR: Meta-analysis – genetic studies

CMR: Meta-analysis – baseline risk

CMR: Meta-analysis – animal experiments

CMR: Meta-analysis – single case studies

CMR: Meta-analysis – composite endpoints

Applicability & recommendations

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - general

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - effect modification

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - baseline risk

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - individual risk

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - levels of evidence and strength of recommendations

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - causal inferences

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - costs

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - recommendations

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - economic benefit measures

CMR: Applicability & recommendations - assessments of the impact of research

Presentation of reviews

CMR: Presentation of reviews - general

CMR: Presentation of reviews - structured abstracts

CMR: Presentation of reviews - quality assessments

CMR: Presentation of reviews - summary statistics

CMR: Presentation of reviews - graphical displays

CMR: Presentation of reviews - risk communication

CMR: Presentation of reviews - identification of systematic reviews

CMR: Presentation of reviews – dissemination

CMR: Presentation of reviews – dissemination – guidelines

CMR: Presentation of reviews - adverse effects

CMR: Presentation of reviews - checklists and guidelines

CMR: Presentation of reviews - search strategies

CMR: Presentation of reviews - statistical interpretation

CMR: Presentation of reviews - differential recruitment into studies

CMR: Presentation of reviews - updating

EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

CMR: Bias in trials - general

CMR: Bias in trials - random allocation

CMR: Bias in trials - blinding - general

CMR: Bias in trials - blinding - placebo effects

CMR: Bias in trials - blinding - effectiveness

CMR: Bias in trials – blinding – informed consent

CMR: Bias in trials - follow-up

CMR: Bias in trials - compliance

CMR: Bias in trials - funding

CMR: Bias in trials - relationship to trial quality

CMR: Bias in trials - generalisability

CMR: Bias in trials - early stopping

CMR: Bias in trials - intention to treat vs. on-treatment analysis

CMR: Bias in trials - accrual and sample size

CMR: Bias in trials - statistical analysis

CMR: Bias in trials - attitudes to trials

CMR: Bias in trials - multi-centre trials

CMR: Bias in trials - N of 1 trials

CMR: Bias in trials – small trial bias

CMR: Bias in trials – cluster trials

CMR: Bias in trials – equivalence trials

CMR: Bias in trials – recall bias

CMR: Bias in trials – factorial trials

CMR: Bias in trials – outcome reporting bias

CMR: Bias in trials – crossover trials

CMR: Mega-trials

CMR: Surrogate outcomes

CMR: Study design

CMR: History and epidemiology of evaluations

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy - general

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy - search strategies

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy - meta-analysis

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy – meta-analysis - heterogeneity

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy - applicability

CMR: Diagnostic test accuracy - scales and checklists

CMR: Consumer involvement

CMR: Patient involvement

CMR: Bias in reviews

CMR: Bias in reviews - funding of studies.

CMR: Volunteer bias

CMR: Non-randomised studies

CMR: Non-randomised studies - bias

CMR: Non-randomised studies - quality assessment

CMR: Non-randomised studies – data quality

CMR: Language

CMR: Qualitative studies

CMR: Prognostic studies

OTHER METHODOLOGY

CMR: Cochrane Collaboration

CMR: Peer review

CMR: Peer review - conflict of interest

CMR: Training and support

CMR: Information retrieval - general

CMR: Information retrieval - reviews

CMR: Information retrieval - indexing vocabularies

CMR: Information retrieval - indexing techniques

CMR: Information retrieval - database architecture

CMR: Information retrieval - retrieval techniques

CMR: Information retrieval - comparisons of methods

CMR: Informatics

CMR: Economic analysis

CMR: Decision analysis

CMR: Quality of Life

CMR: Ethics of trials

CMR: Ethics of trials - eligible & randomised vs eligible & not randomised

CMR: Authorship

CMR: Fragility

CMR: Internet

CMR: Readability

CMR: Time preferences

CMR: Adverse effects

CMR: Health status measures

CMR: Equity

CMR: Patient based outcome measures

CMR: Timing and choice of research question

CMR: Gender, age or race bias

CMR: Clinical audit

CMR: Race and ethnicity in research

Inclusion criteria

The broad intention is to include empirical studies of methods relevant to systematic reviews and evaluations of health care or social interventions. This includes empirical studies of the methods used in evaluations, such as randomized controlled trials, as well as methodological studies that are directly relevant to doing a review. Both comparative and descriptive studies are included. The CMR also includes reviews of methodological issues, discussions of various aspects of the science of reviewing and users’ guides (checklists) for reviews and other types of studies.

We are preparing centrally edited structured abstracts for the included records and these have already been added to some of the records. We are also investigating the possibility of including the full text of some articles.

Topics

We realise that the list of index terms above is not an exhaustive list of topics and we would welcome suggestions on any items that are felt to be missing and other ways in which this list might be improved. The index list has been structured to emphasise systematic reviews. The primary focus is on bias. Generally, we are interested in methodological questions regarding the conduct and critical appraisal of reviews and evaluations of health care.

Search strategies

Electronic database searching

It has proven difficult to develop a sensitive and efficient search strategy. Methodological studies are not easily identifiable in electronic bibliographic databases. An investigation is under way within the Methodology Review Group to assess whether the MESH terms, text words, authors and journals for articles already in the bibliographic database could be used to develop a search strategy for retrospective and prospective searching of MEDLINE. With financial support from the National Health Service Research and Development Methodology Programme, the UK Cochrane Centre developed and ran a series of search strategies in MEDLINE in 2000 to identify reports of methodological studies for the CMR, and relevant records identified through this searching have been included. A series of search strategies for methodology studies have also been developed and run in EMBASE in 2004. In addition, some relevant articles have been identified during a UK Cochrane Centre project to search EMBASE for reports of randomized controlled trials.

Journal handsearching

Methodological articles are published in a wide range of journals. Handsearching of these to identify methodological studies is difficult and is not part of the routine handsearching being done within The Cochrane Collaboration. The Methodology Review Group handsearches specific journals that are expected to yield a high proportion of relevant methodological articles. With support from the National Institute for Health Research the following journals have been handsearched:

·        American Journal of Epidemiology (1948-2005)

·        Annals of Epidemiology (1991-2005)

·        Biometrics (1948-2008)

·        Biometrika (1948-2001)

·        BMC Health Services Research (2001-2008)

·        BMC Journal of Negative Results in Biomedicine (2002-2008)

·        BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making (2001-2008)

·        BMC Medical Research Methodology (2001-2008)

·        Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (1953-2001) (handsearching supported by the US Medical Library Association) (superseded by “Journal of the Medical Library Association”)

·        Chinese Journal of Evidence-based Medicine (2001- July 2008)

·        Clinical Trials (2004-2006)

·        Computer Methods & Programmes in Biomedicine (1987-2003)

·        Contemporary Clinical Trials (2005-2008)

·        Controlled Clinical Trials (1980-2004) (superseded by “Contemporary Clinical Trials” and “Clinical Trials”)

·        Epidemiologic Reviews (1979-1993)

·        Epidemiology (1990-2006)

·        Health Information and Libraries Journal (2001-2006) (handsearching supported by the UK Library Association Health Libraries Group)

·        Health Libraries Review (1984-2000) (handsearching supported by the UK Library Association Health Libraries Group) (superseded by “Health Information and Libraries Journal”)

·        Health Research Policy & Systems (2005-2007)

·        International Journal of Epidemiology (1972-2002)

·        International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (1994-1995)

·        International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care (1985-2008)

·        Journal of Advanced Nursing (1976-2006)

·        Journal of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention (2002) (ceased publication)

·        Journal of Clinical Epidemiology (1955-2008)

·        Journal of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (1996-1999) (ceased publication)

·        Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health (1953-2005)

·        Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice (2000-2005)

·        Journal of Health Services & Research Policy (1996-2005)

·        Journal of Information Science (1979-2005)

·        Journal of the Medical Library Association (2001-2002) (handsearching supported by the US Medical Libraries Association)

·        Medical Decision Making (1996-2002)

·        Medical Education (1973-2005)

·        Medical Informatics & the Internet in Medicine (1976-2002) (ceased publication Dec 2007)

·        PLoS Clinical Trials (2006) (superseded by PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials)

·        PLoS Hub for Clinical Trials (2006-22 Oct 2008)

·        PLoS Medicine (2004- 28 Oct 2008)

·        PLoS ONE (2006- 4 Nov 2008)

·        Statistical Methods in Medical Research (1992-2002)

·        Statistics in Medicine (1982-2008)

·        Trials (2006- June 2008)

The Methodology Review Group also seeks to identify reports of randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials during this searching and details of these reports are submitted quarterly for inclusion in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). The Methodology Review Group is prospectively searching for methodological articles in some journals (e.g. BMJ and JAMA), which others within the Collaboration are already searching for trials.

The following special issues of journals have also been handsearched:

·        Evaluation & the Health Professions - The Cochrane Collaboration 2002; 25(1)

·        International Journal of Epidemiology - Systematic reviews & meta-analysis 2002;31(1)

·        JAMA - Peer Review Congress IV 2002;287(21)

·        Statistics in Medicine - Third Symposium on Systematic Review Methodology 2002; 21(11)

The reference lists of the following UK Health Technology Assessment Methodology Reviews have also been searched:

·        Takeda A, Loveman E, Harris P, Hartwell D, Welch K. Time to full publication of studies of anti-cancer medicines for breast cancer and the potential for publication bias: a short systematic review. Health Technology Assessment 2008;12(32):1-46.

·        Raftery J, Bryant J, Powell J, Kerr C, Hawker S. Payment to healthcare professionals for patient recruitment to trials: systematic review and qualitative study. Health Technology Assessment 2008;12(10):1-87.

·        Rutjes AWS, Reitsma JB, Coomarasamy A, Khan KS, Bossuyt PMM. Evaluation of diagnostic tests when there is no gold standard. A review of methods. Health Technology Assessment 2007;11(50):43-7.

·        Campbell MK, Snowdon C, Francis D, Elbourne D, McDonald AM, Knight R, Entwistle V, Garcia J, Roberts I, Grant A (the STEPS Group). Recruitment to randomised trials: strategies for trial enrolment and participation study. The STEPS Study. Health Technology Assessment 2007;11(48):69-72.

·        Keogh-Brown MR, Bachmann MO, Shepstone L, Hewitt C, Howe A, Ramsay CR, Song F, Miles JNV, Torgerson DJ, Miles S, Elbourne D, Harvey I, Campbell MJ. Contamination in trials of educational interventions. Health Technology Assessment 2007;11(43):1-91.

·        Williams C, Brunskill S, Altman D, Briggs A, Campbell H, Clarke M, Glanville J, Gray A, Harris A, Johnston K, Lodge M. Cost-effectiveness of using prognostic information to select women with breast cancer for adjuvant systemic therapy. Health Technology Assessment 2006;10(34):1-153.

·        Dundar Y, Dodd S, Dickson R, Walley T, Haycox A, Williamson PR. 

Comparison of conference abstracts and presentations with full-text articles in  the health technology assessments of rapidly evolving technologies. Health Technology Assessment 2006;10(5):1-145.

·        Bartlett C, Doyal L, Ebrahim S, Davey P, Bachmann M, Egger M, Dieppe P. The causes and effects of socio-demographic exclusions from clinical trials. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(38):1-168.

·        King M, Nazareth I, Lampe F, Bower P, Chandler M, Morou M, Sibbald B, Lai R. Conceptual framework and systematic review of the effects of participants’ and professionals’ preferences in randomised controlled trials. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(35):1-186.

·        Glenny AM, Altman DG, Song F, Sakarovitch C, Deeks JJ, D’Amico R, Bradburn M, Eastwood AJ. Indirect comparisons of competing interventions. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(26):1-148.

·        Woloshynowych M, Rogers S, Taylor-Adams S, Vincent C. The investigation and analysis of critical incidents and adverse events in healthcare. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(19):1-158.

·        Dinnes J, Deeks J, Kirby J, Roderick P. A methodological review of how heterogeneity has been examined in systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(12):1-128.

·        Robinson EJ, Kerr CEP, Stevens AJ, Lilford RJ, Braunholtz DA, Edwards SJ, Beck SR, Rowley MG. Lay public’s understanding of equipoise and randomisation in randomised controlled trials. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(8):1-192.

·        Grant AM, Altman DG, Babiker AB, Campbell MK, Clemens FJ, Darbyshire JH, Elbourne DR, McLeer SK, Parmar MKB, Pocock SJ, Spiegelhalter DJ, Sydes MR, Walker AE, Wallace SA and the DAMOCLES Study Group. Issues in data monitoring and interim analysis of trials. Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(7):1-238.

·        Dalziel K, Round A, Stein K, Garside R, Castelnuovo E, Payne L. Do the findings of case series studies vary significantly according to methodological characteristics? Health Technology Assessment 2005;9(2):1-160.

·        Sculpher MJ, Pang FS, Manca A, Drummond MF, Golder S, Urdahl H, Davies LM, Eastwood A. Generalisability in economic evaluation studies in healthcare: a review and case studies. Health Technology Assessment 2004;8(49):1-206.

·        Song FJ, Fry-Smith A, Davenport C, Bayliss S, Adi Y, Wilson JS, Hyde C. Identification and assessment of ongoing trials in health technology assessment reviews. Health Technology Assessment 2004;8(44):1-102.

·        Hussain-Gambles M, Leese B, Atkin K, Brown J, Mason S, Tovey P. Involving South Asian patients in clinical trials. Health Technology Assessment 2004;8(42):1-124.

·        Whiting P, Rutjes AWS, Dinnes J, Reitsma JB, Bossuyt PMM, Kleijnen J. Development and validation of methods for assessing the quality of diagnostic accuracy studies. Health Technology Assessment 2004;8(25):1-248.

·        Oliver S, Clarke-Jones L, Rees R, Milne R, Buchanan P, Gabbay J, Gyte G, Oakley A, Stein K. Involving consumers in research and development agenda setting for the NHS: developing an evidence-based approach. Health Technology Assessment 2004;8(15):1-148.

·        Moher D, Pham B, Lawson ML, Klassen TP. The inclusion of reports of randomised trials published in languages other than English in systematic reviews. Health Technology Assessment 2003; 7(41): 1-90.

·        Royle P, Waugh N. Literature searching for clinical and cost-effectiveness studies used in health technology assessment reports carried out for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraisal system. Health Technology Assessment 2003; 7(34): 1-64.

·        Deeks JJ, Dinnes J, D’Amico R, Sowden AJ, Sakarovitch C, Song F, Petticrew M, Altman DG. Evaluating non-randomised intervention studies. Health Technology Assessment 2003; 7(27): 1-186.

·        Egger M, Jüni P, Bartlett C, Holenstein F, Sterne J. How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews? Empirical study. Health Technology Assessment 2003; 7(1):1-76.

·        MacLehose, Reeves BC, Harvey IM, Sheldon TA, Russell IT, Black AMS. A systematic review of comparisons of effect sizes derived from randomised and non-randomised studies. Health Technology Assessment 2000; 4(34): 1-154.

·        Song F, Eastwood AJ, Gilbody S, Duley L, Sutton AJ. Publication and Related    Biases. Health Technology Assessment 2000; 4(10): 1-115.

·        Prescott RJ, Counsell CE, Gillespie WJ, Grant AM, Russell IT, Kiauka S, Colthart IR, Ross S, Shepherd SM, Russell D. Factors that limit the quality, number and progress of randomised controlled trials. Health Technology Assessment 1999; 3(20): 1-143.

·        Sutton AJ, Abrams KR, Jones DR, Sheldon TA, Song F. Systematic Reviews of Trials and Other Studies. Health Technology Assessment 1998; 2(19): 1-276.

Conference proceedings

The Methodology Review Group has searched abstracts from the proceedings of:

·        All Ireland Cancer Conference; 2003 Cork, Ireland.

·        Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Health Services  Research section); 2000 – 2006.

·        Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (2002)

·        Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials (1980-1997; 2002; 2004-2006)

·        Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Social Medicine 2000.

·        EAHIL - European Conference of Medical and Health Libraries; 1996; 1998; 2004; 2008.

·        Eighth International Congress on Medical Librarianship; 2000 London, UK.

·        European Cancer Conference; 2005 Paris, France.

·        Annual Meeting of the Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) (2004-2008)

·        Fourth International Congress on Peer Review in Biomedical Publication; 2001 Barcelona, Spain.

·        International Clinical Trials Symposium: improving health care in the new millennium; 2002 Sydney, Australia.

·        International Cochrane Colloquia; 1995 - 2007.

·        International Congress on Peer Review in Biomedical Publication; 2005 Chicago, USA.

·        International Society of Environmental Epidemiology 1999-2006

·        International Society of Technology Assessment in Health Care; 1996; 1998 - 2003.

·        International Evidence-based Librarianship Conference; 2003, 2005, 2007.

·        Medical Library Association; 1997 - 1998; 2001 - 2008.

·        Methods for Evaluating Medical Tests. First International Symposium; 2008 Birmingham, UK.

·        San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2000; 2005; 2006.

·        Scientific Basis of Health Services Conference; 1995; 1997.

·        Society for Epidemiologic Research; 2002 – 2004.

·        Symposium on Systematic Reviews; 1998; 2000; 2002.

As well as searching for methodological articles, the Methodology Review Group seeks to identify all reports of randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials in these conference abstracts. Details of these are submitted quarterly for inclusion in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL).

Other sources

Additional studies are also identified as a result of the handsearching and electronic searching which is carried out by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York (UK) to identify published reviews of the effects of health care. Any potentially relevant methodological articles, which are identified during this process, are sent for consideration for inclusion in the CMR.

A promising means of identifying methodological studies has proved to be through personal contacts and networks of people with an interest in methodology. Each of the Cochrane Methods Groups needs to keep up-to-date information on studies relevant to their scope, and they are encouraged to forward this information for inclusion in the CMR. Anyone is welcome to send details of any empirical methodological studies to Sally Hopewell (see “Contact Details” below). Moreover, all users of the CMR are encouraged to inform us of published, unpublished and ongoing studies not already included in the register.

Ongoing studies

The CMR contains reports of ongoing methodological research. This is part of a project undertaken by the Methodology Review Group to develop a prospective register of methodological research.

Sources of support

National Institute for Health Research, England.

National Institute of Public Health, Norway.

Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Norway.

Norwegian Research Council, Norway.

 

Acknowledgements

Regina Kunz did much of the initial work developing a register of empirical methodological studies together with David Cowan, Peter Gøtzsche, Stephen Halpern, Alejandro Jadad, Andy Oxman and Dave Sackett. The first issue of the CMR was prepared by Andy Oxman, Iain Chalmers and Doug Altman and published as a bibliography in Systematic Reviews, edited by Iain Chalmers and Doug Altman. A number of people contributed to the first bibliography and to subsequent issues of the CMR and we are very grateful to all those who have contributed, particularly the convenors and members of those Cochrane Methods Groups which have made substantial contributions. The indexing has mostly been done by Mike Clarke and we are grateful to Hilde Aassved Hellan and Inekke Loke for entering many of the index terms to the database.

Responsibility for the Cochrane Methodology Register was transferred to the UK Cochrane Centre in July 2000. Prior to this, the register was maintained by the Norwegian Branch of the Nordic Cochrane Centre. We are very grateful to all those who have contributed to its development, especially to Kirsty Loudon Olsen and Andy Oxman. Thanks are also due to Anne Eisinga (for designing the electronic search strategies), to Teresa Clarke (for handsearching) and to Ieva Eland and Sarah Chapman (for processing the records identified) of the UK Cochrane Centre.

Editorial information

The CMR is prepared by the Methodology Review Group (for more information see the module in The Cochrane Library). This version has been edited by Mike Clarke, Sally Hopewell and Anne Eisinga.

Cochrane Methods Groups

More information is available on Cochrane Methods Groups in their individual modules in The Cochrane Library, and in the annual Methods Groups Newsletter. The latest version of this can be found at:

http://www.cochrane.org/newslett/MethodsGroups_June2008.pdf

Contact details

Sally Hopewell                                     Anne Eisinga

UK Cochrane Centre                                      UK Cochrane Centre

National Institute for Health Research            National Institute for Health Research

Summertown Pavilion                                                Summertown Pavilion

Middle Way                                                     Middle Way

Oxford OX2 7LG                                         Oxford OX2 7LG

UK                                                                  UK

Tel: + 44 1865 516300                                    Tel: + 44 1865 516300

Fax: + 44 1865 516311                                    Fax: + 44 1865 516311

E-mail: shopewell@cochrane.co.uk                 E-mail: aeisinga@cochrane.co.uk