Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27259528›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2016

Reporting of planned statistical methods in published surgical randomised trial protocols: a protocol for a methodological systematic review.

Kim Madden, Erika Arseneau, Nathan Evaniew, Christopher S Smith, Lehana Thabane

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Assessment of 30 Years of Randomized Controlled Trials inOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2023
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Kim MaddenDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Erika ArseneauDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nathan EvaniewDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Christopher S SmithOrthoEvidence Inc., Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Lehana ThabaneDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

CIHR GSD1349
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPoor reporting can lead to inadequate presentation of data, confusion regarding research methodology used, selective reporting of results, and other misinformation regarding health research. One of the most recent attempts to improve quality of reporting comes from the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) Group, which makes recommendations for the reporting of protocols. In this report, we present a protocol for a systematic review of published surgical randomised controlled trial (RCT) protocols, with the purpose of assessing the reporting quality and completeness of the statistical aspects.

methodsWe will include all published protocols of randomised trials that investigate surgical interventions. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL for relevant studies. Author pairs will independently review all titles, abstracts, and full texts identified by the literature search, and extract data using a structured data extraction form. We will extract the following: year of publication, country, sample size, description of study population, description of intervention and control, primary outcome, important methodological qualities, and quality of reporting of planned statistical methods based on the SPIRIT guidelines. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results of this review will demonstrate the quality of statistical reporting of published surgical RCT protocols. This knowledge will inform recommendations to surgeons, researchers, journal editors and peer reviewers, and other knowledge users that focus on common deficiencies in reporting and how to rectify them. Ethics approval for this study is not required. We will disseminate the results of this review in peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations, and at a doctoral independent study of oral defence.

Indexed as

Biomedical ResearchPublicationsPublishingClinical ProtocolsGuidelines as TopicHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignResearch PersonnelSelection BiasSystematic Reviews as TopicEPIDEMIOLOGYSTATISTICS & RESEARCH METHODSSURGERY

Identifiers

PMID27259528
PMCPMC4893854

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.