Authors

People who want to be involved in writing Cochrane Reviews can do so in a number of ways.  You can apply to register a title and, if accepted, go on to develop a protocol and a review on a clinical question of interest. Once a review is written, it will require updating every two to five years, or when there is more information from clinical trials. Ideally the original review team update their reviews regularly, but this is not always possible. You may want to get involved in our work by updating an existing out of date review. 

This page has been developed by the airways group and containd most of the information and resources you will need to register a title, write a protocol, write a review or update an existing review. The Collaboration has provided additional information here.

If you are interested in developing a Cochrane Review from scratch, you must first identify a clinical question you are interested in. Once you have a clinical question in mind, check that it has not already been addressed by doing a key word search for protocols and reviews published on the Cochrane Library. You should also check our topics list of reviews developed with the support of the Cochrane Airways Group for overlapping scope.  If you are happy that your topic has not already been covered, please fill out a title registration form and email it to Emma Jackson (ejackson@sgul.ac.uk). Once we have received a title registration, it will be assessed by members of the editorial base and if the title is suitable and the author team meets minimum expectations the form will be forwarded to the Editorial Board for approval. The title registration form may be returned to authors for amendments one or more times.

If you identify a review in need of updating and would like to request permission to join the review team, please submit an update registration form.

Developing a protocol

Once your title has been registered, we will set up Archie accounts for the whole author team and create a RevMan file including some important information about developing your protocol. We will send the contact person an email containing additional information, which is also covered below:

• Declaration of roles and responsibilities – contains full details of editorial process and expectations of authors and editorial base staff
• Training: Cochrane Centres organise and run training workshops for authors in their region. I recommend that you attend a workshop on developing a protocol. For details of your reference (regional) Cochrane Centre, see www.cochrane.org/contact/country. Details of upcoming workshops can be found at www.cochrane.org/training. There are several online training modules that can be found here http://training.cochrane.org/authors/olm. Anyone with an Archie account can use them.
• The Cochrane Handbook is the official document that describes the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane Reviews, and you should refer to it at all stages of the review process. The Cochrane Handbook is freely available online (www.cochrane.org/training/cochrane-handbook). The handbook is freely available as pdf chapters for those with an Archie account (In Archie: access under the ‘Resources' tab, 'Handbook Editorial Advisory Panel', 'Files', 'Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions' (free access) and in Review Manager: access from the Help file. Also as a hardback book: available to purchase through Wiley (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470699515.html; note that the book does not contain the most recent updates available in the electronic versions).
• Archie top tips for authors
• Archie Quick Start Guide
• Searching  developing a search strategy
• Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) – The Cochrane Collaboration have developed a set of methodological expectations for Cochrane Protocols, Reviews, and updates of reviews on the effects of interventions. The Cochrane Airways Group supports these standards which reflect the recommendations in The Handbook. The editorial process aims to take account of these standards and make sure they are implemented in our reviews. Full details about the expectations can be found here http://www.editorial-unit.cochrane.org/mecir. If you have any questions about MECIR and how the standards relate to your review, please contact Emma (ewelsh@sgul.ac.uk)
• Protocol checklist (pdf) - gives information on the details required to be reported in the review including updating, formatting, contact details, references and appendices. The checklist is optional but we hope it will help you write a protocol that will fly through the editorial process - open file for more information.
• Cochrane Style guide -  your protocol should reflect the Cochrane library style
• Resources for reviewers – handy document you can download summarising of resources available

If you encounter any problems in drafting your protocol, please contact Emma (ewelsh@sgul.ac.uk). Once you are happy with the protocol please submit it for editorial approval which will trigger the editorial process.

Once your protocol has been marked for publication, the review writing stage is triggered. The trials Search Coordinator, Liz Stovold, will email you the search results and you will be free to start writing your review. We suggest that you develop a timeline and agree this with your team and the managing Editor.

Important resources   

• GRADEpro - (GRADEprofiler) is the software used to create Summary of Findings (SoF) tables in Cochrane systematic reviews. Online learning modules are available here.
• Cochrane Style guide -  your review should reflect the Cochrane library style
• Training: Cochrane Centres organise and run training workshops for authors in their region. I recommend that you attend a workshop on developing a protocol. For details of your reference (regional) Cochrane Centre, see www.cochrane.org/contact/country. Details of upcoming workshops can be found at www.cochrane.org/training. There are several online training modules that can be found here http://training.cochrane.org/authors/olm. Anyone with an Archie account can use them.
• The Cochrane Handbook is the official document that describes the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane Reviews, and you should refer to it at all stages of the review process. The Cochrane Handbook is freely available online (www.cochrane.org/training/cochrane-handbook). The handbook is freely available as pdf chapters for those with an Archie account (In Archie: access under the ‘Resources' tab, 'Handbook Editorial Advisory Panel', 'Files', 'Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions' (free access) and in Review Manager: access from the Help file. Also as a hardback book: available to purchase through Wiley (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470699515.html; note that the book does not contain the most recent updates available in the electronic versions).
• Archie top tips for authors
• Archie Quick Start Guide
• Searching  getting search results and searching other databases
• Data collection form – suggested form for collecting information on the characteristics of studies included in a review, and information likely to be of relevance in assessing the risk of bias. Standard form for you to adapt to your needs
• Template data extraction form (Excel) - can be used by review authors for extracting numerical outcome data from included studies for entry in Review Manager software. 
• Declaration of roles and responsibilities – contains full details of editorial process and expectations of authors and editorial base staff
• Suggested timeline for writing reviews
• Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) – The Cochrane Collaboration have developed a set of methodological expectations for Cochrane Protocols, Reviews, and updates of reviews on the effects of interventions. The Cochrane Airways Group supports these standards which reflect the recommendations in The Handbook. The editorial process aims to take account of these standards and make sure they are implemented in our reviews. Full details about the expectations can be found here http://www.editorial-unit.cochrane.org/mecir. If you have any questions about MECIR and how the standards relate to your review, please contact Emma (ewelsh@sgul.ac.uk)
• PRISMA - preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Resources for reviewers – summary of resources available
• Review checklist. Review checklist (pdf) - gives information on the details required to be reported in the review including updating, formatting, contact details, references and appendices. The checklist is optional but we hope it will help you write a review that will fly through the editorial process - open file for more information.

Once you have identified a review in need of an update, please contact Emma (ewelsh@sgul.ac.uk) in the first instance, who will be able to advise on whether the title is available. If the title is available you will be asked to complete an update registration form. If the title is not available we will discuss other options.

• Update registration form (Word) - to be filled in and submitted to the editorial base by potential contributors who wish to register to update an existing published review with the group.
• Declaration of roles and responsibilities (pdf) - outlines processes and standards for editorial base staff and Cochrane review authors. Also outlines the editorial procedure of the group. 
• Suggested process for agreeing author by-line when new team joins to update an out of date review where the old team no longer wish to update