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Reporting guidelines: which one, and why they exist

Checklists that make a study reportable, reproducible, and reviewable. Most journals now require one.

Reporting guidelines exist because a large proportion of published research could not be evaluated, replicated or included in a synthesis, for the mundane reason that essential information was missing. They are not a quality standard for the study; they are a completeness standard for the report. A badly designed trial reported to CONSORT is still a badly designed trial — but at least you can tell.

DesignGuidelineWhat it is for
Randomised trialCONSORT (+ extensions for non-pharmacological and social interventions)Flow diagram, randomisation, blinding, all outcomes pre-specified
Trial protocolSPIRITWhat you will do, published before you do it
Systematic review / meta-analysisPRISMA 2020Search strategy, screening, flow diagram, risk-of-bias assessment
Review protocolPRISMA-P; register on PROSPEROPre-specification of a review
Observational studySTROBECohort, case-control and cross-sectional reporting
Qualitative researchCOREQ (interviews/focus groups) or SRQRReflexivity, sampling, analysis, coding, trustworthiness
Single case reportCARETimeline, intervention, outcomes, patient perspective, consent
Single-case experimental designSCRIBEPhase design, replication, visual and statistical analysis
Quality improvementSQUIRE 2.0Context, intervention, iterations, unintended consequences
Diagnostic accuracySTARDReference standard, blinding, flow, 2×2 table
Economic evaluationCHEERSPerspective, horizon, discounting, sensitivity analysis
Any psychology manuscriptAPA JARS (Quantitative / Qualitative / Mixed)The APA’s own reporting standards

Psychotherapy-specific things the generic checklists under-specify

  • Therapist characteristics: how many, what training, what supervision, what allegiance. Therapist effects exceed treatment effects, and most trials report nothing about them.
  • Treatment fidelity AND competence: whether the protocol was followed, and whether it was delivered well. These are different and both are usually missing.
  • The comparator, described in enough detail to know whether it was bona fide.
  • Deterioration and adverse events. Psychotherapy trials have historically not reported harms at all, which is a serious and now widely criticised omission.
  • Attrition by arm, with reasons, and how missing data were handled.
  • Allegiance of the investigators, declared rather than inferred.

Sources

  • Schulz, K. F., Altman, D. G., & Moher, D. (2010). CONSORT 2010 statement: Updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials. BMJ, 340, c332

    guideline

  • Page, M. J., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71

    guideline

  • Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ). International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349–357

    guideline

  • Gagnier, J. J., et al. (2013). The CARE guidelines: Consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development. BMJ Case Reports

    guideline

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