The EQUATOR Network register of reporting guidelines under development

The EQUATOR Network provides a space for registering reporting guidelines that are currently under development around the world.

We encourage researchers to register the development of reporting guidelines and extensions here for free and also to keep the register entry up to date by contacting us to update it with the latest progress.

The EQUATOR Network recommends that authors contact the original development group if they plan to develop an extension or translation of an existing reporting guideline.

Registration of extensions or translations may be sent to the original development group before posting on the EQUATOR website.

Why register?

To raise awareness: by telling others that you are developing a reporting guideline, you can attract collaboration from others;
To prevent duplication of effort: before starting to develop a new reporting guideline, developers should first check this register to see if someone has already started developing the same or a similar guideline. They can then offer to join existing development groups instead of wasting time and resources by creating duplicate guidelines;
To be transparent: protocols, no matter how simple and short, can be published and disseminated through this channel so that the development methods are clear for all.

What you can — and cannot — register here?

You can register here:

the development of a reporting guideline for a research article published in a scientific journal:

“A reporting guideline is a checklist, flow diagram, or structured text to guide authors in reporting a specific type of research, developed using explicit methodology”.

the development of a checklist or statement, the explanation and elaboration (E&E) document under development, the protocol of your project, the website dedicated to this development and other associated materials
the progress of your work, by sending us news about steps finished, such as the publication of protocols or systematic reviews, the start of Delphi surveys and consensus meetings scheduled

You cannot register here:

clinical guidelines: guidance you are developing for clinical practice in any field
guidance for the conduct of research or methodological guidelines (unless they are part of a reporting guideline)
the translation of existing reporting guidelines (but you can request for the translation, once complete, to be added to the relevant reporting guideline record in our main database)
guidance or checklists developed specifically for the critical appraisal or evaluation of the reporting of health research studies
guidance whose development has already finished, even if not yet published
guidance on the quality of communication between healthcare providers, such as pathology or laboratory reports or medical records, or any report not intended for publication as a scientific paper.

How to register

Before registering your guideline, search the list of current reporting guidelines under development to see if any similar initiatives are underway.

Please register your planned guideline using this form: Registration-form and send it back us.

Please take care to fill in all fields, as incomplete forms may be returned to authors. Feel free to add additional information where applicable.

The EQUATOR Network will summarise the information provided in the registration form for publication on the website. The information on the forms helps us verify if the project is about the development of a reporting guideline (and not a methodological or clinical guideline) and any duplication or overlap with other reporting guidelines under development or already published.

Disclaimers

Not an endorsement

Registration of a reporting guideline under development and its inclusion on this web page does not imply endorsement by the EQUATOR Network.

Responsibilities

The contents of the reporting guidelines under development listed here are the authors’ responsibility, and no liability is accepted for any use of reporting guidelines under development information included in these pages.

Authors should ensure that they have the appropriate authority to develop the reporting guideline being registered and that all of the information submitted to us is accurate to the best of their knowledge.

Content of this register

This list is not an exhaustive collection of reporting guidelines under development, but we encourage the community to provide us with links to others that are known to be under development.

The EQUATOR Network may remove any reporting guideline under development, particularly those registered more than 5 years ago, from these pages at any time at its sole discretion.

Once your reporting guideline has been developed and published, see our instructions on next steps. We will remove the entry from the list of reporting guidelines under development, and move the reporting guideline to the main EQUATOR library.