From Checklists to Tools: Lowering the Barrier to Better Research Reporting.

Writing research articles is no trivial task. As complex technical documents that often mark the culmination of many years of work by many contributors, they can require considerable coordination even to assemble an initial draft. Ensuring accurate and complete reporting is critical to informing subsequent work and, especially in medical research, to the thoughtful interpretation of research findings with potentially profound consequences for clinical research and practice. While waste in research happens at many levels, it would seem that accurately and completely reporting research is one area that should be readily amenable to minimizing wasted effort [1]. Disappointingly, however, research on research indicates that authors and editors are not doing well in this regard [1]. As journal editors, we are interested in efforts to improve reporting in published research, and, together with our colleagues at other journals, have proudly featured the efforts of those researchers who develop research reporting guidelines [2]. It has even been argued that the CONsolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) [3] and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) [4] reporting guidelines are some of the most important academic works we’ve published [5], and they are certainly highly read and cited. PLOS Medicine requires that certain checklists be included on submission for research studies, including CONSORT for clinical trials [3], STROBE for observational studies [6], Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) for diagnostic accuracy studies [7], and PRISMA for systematic reviews [4], and we encourage the use of other relevant guidelines where they exist. There is evidence that endorsement of CONSORT by journals increases the completeness of reporting for randomized controlled trials even if reporting remains suboptimal [8]. More consistent implementation of checklists by journals and authors should improve reporting further, but could the checklists themselves also evolve to achieve the same ends? Despite general consensus among editors in favor of checklists, a feeling of saturation may be setting in for some authors. Last month, another important reporting guide extension joined the guidelines already published in PLOS Medicine: the REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Data (RECORD) statement, an extension to STROBE for reporting observational studies that use routinely collected health data [9]. Peer review of the guideline was supportive and constructive, but one reviewer took the opportunity to express exasperation about the proliferation of reporting guidelines in general: “Howmany more unenforceable proclamations and checklists do we need?” While the reviewer also noted support for the authors’ efforts in developing the guideline, this frustration may be familiar to many. For some prospective authors, journal requirements for providing a relevant checklist can feel like yet another hurdle along the journey to publication. What’s more, for those authors who are keen to use a guideline to help develop their