For new reviews, the editorial process of the CAG involves three stages. Completed reviews must be updated every two years.

Registering a new title
Submission of a title registration form to the CAG editorial base, and the approval of the title by
the editorial board. The TSC will make contact with authors at this stage to discuss search
strategies.

Protocol development
Once a title is registered, the review protocol (eligibility criteria and methods) will be developed
by the authors before being verified for editorial review by the ME. It will then be edited and
signed off by a contact editor. The TSC will review planned searches and referencing before the
co-ordinating editor (Co-ed) of the CAG finalises a draft for peer review. Once comments from
peers have been satisfactorily addressed, and signed  licence for publication forms have been
received, the protocol will be released for publication on the Cochrane Library during the
following module submission. Electronic literature searches for studies relevant to the review
will then be run.

Review development
When the draft full review has been submitted, the ME will initially verify that it is fit  for
editorial review by the contact editor. Once the contact editor has signed off the review, the TSC
will review the search strategies and referencing before the Co-ed finalises a draft prior to peer
review. When comments from peers have been satisfactorily addressed, we will send the review
on for copyediting. Authors will then be asked to sign off the version of the review that will be
published, and to submit a signed licence for publication form.

Updates of reviews
For updates of the review, the process is largely restricted to the third stage outlined above.
However, we encourage authors to involve us in discussing possible changes to the scope of
their review (such as amending eligibility criteria, search methods, and analysis) prior to the re-
running  of search strategies and revision of the review. If necessary a new protocol may be
required, particularly if new authors are involved in updating the review.