Issue 4, July 2023

Welcome to this month's Author Digest

This edition includes information on improvements to creating focused Cochrane reviews and style essentials guidance, as well as the updated Diagnostic Test Accuracy (DTA) Handbook.

This digest goes out to all active Cochrane authors and will continue to be sent to authors who are opted in. Please review your communication preferences in your Cochrane account and ensure you are opted in to communications.

Contents

1. Creating a focused Cochrane Review: Improvements for authors
2. Style essentials guidance for authors
3. What you need to know about the new Cochrane Diagnostic Test Accuracy Handbook
4. Top tips for authors

1. Creating a focused Cochrane Review: Improvements for authors 

Coming in September 2023! Cochrane Reviews will be shorter, some subheadings will change with streamlined reporting, and this will help make your Cochrane evidence more impactful. It will also make writing Cochrane Reviews quicker and simpler. These changes will faciliate editorial and production processes, as well as Cochrane's ability to innovate. We launched changes to data management back in April and soon we'll be launching these changes to make Cochrane Reviews more focused. 

Read more, and join our webinar focused on what it means for authors in October here.

2. Style essentials guidance for authors

Writers sometimes conjure up an imaginary reader as they write, to ensure they are speaking to the right audience. So who should you imagine as you write your Cochrane Review?

Readers of the Cochrane Library include patients, carers, policy-makers and funders from all over the world. Increase the global impact of your evidence by using Cochrane style. We developed Cochrane house style to ensure clarity for our readers and accuracy in our evidence. Write in accessible language for a reader who is not a medical expert or a native English speaker.

Follow our new Style essentials guidance to ensure your review follows Cochrane style. Style essentials is linked from the Help menu in RevMan, so it’s right there as you write.

Style essentials is an update to the previous Style Basics resource. The updated version also includes links to best practice published examples on the Cochrane Library:

• Clear, concise, consistent Abstract
• Plain Language Summary that follows our recommended template
• Characteristics of included studies tables

The Text editing section in the RevMan Knowledge Base can help with style and formatting - and of course you can always contact support@cochrane.org with any queries.

3. What you need to know about the new Cochrane Diagnostic Test Accuracy Handbook

The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy is a guide for those new to conducting systematic reviews of test accuracy and a must-read reference for more experienced authors synthetizing diagnostic evidence. 

Learn more about how it was developed, what it contains, and the surrounding learning resources.

4. Top tips for Cochrane authors

In RevMan Web, you can choose between two editing view options: the default view and the full-text view. The default view is organized into individual text boxes and data fields. Use this view to work through each section of the review, adding data as well as studies and references. 

With full-text view, you can navigate, review and edit the document in one window. This can help with functions such as spell check and find and replace.

Read more about switching between the default and full-text view.

Contact us

If you have any questions about any of the above items, please contact us at support@cochrane.org