MedPubReporting guideline review for medical manuscripts
Incomplete reporting is one of the most common, and most avoidable, reasons for major revisions. We match your study to the correct EQUATOR guideline, check every item against your manuscript and return a prioritised list of what reviewers will ask for.
What reporting guidelines are
Reporting guidelines are evidence-based checklists, developed by methodologists, editors and researchers, that specify what a paper of a given study design must report. The EQUATOR Network maintains a library of several hundred of them. The best known are endorsed by major medical journals and referenced in the ICMJE recommendations, and many journals now require a completed checklist at submission.
Studies of the published literature have repeatedly found that key items, such as how the sample size was determined, how participants were selected, or how missing data were handled, are absent from a large share of papers. Reviewers notice. A missing item usually produces a query at best and a rejection at worst.
The main guidelines we review against
| Study design | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Randomised controlled trial | CONSORT (with extensions for cluster, non-inferiority and other designs) |
| Trial protocol | SPIRIT |
| Cohort, case-control or cross-sectional study | STROBE |
| Systematic review or meta-analysis | PRISMA 2020 (PRISMA-P for protocols) |
| Case report or case series | CARE |
| Diagnostic accuracy study | STARD |
| Prediction model development or validation | TRIPOD (TRIPOD+AI for machine-learning models) |
| Qualitative research | SRQR or COREQ |
| Quality improvement study | SQUIRE 2.0 |
| Economic evaluation | CHEERS 2022 |
| Animal research | ARRIVE 2.0 |
Not sure which applies? See how to choose the right reporting guideline for your study.
What you receive
- Guideline confirmation: the guideline (and any extension) that matches your design, with a one-line justification you can reuse in the cover letter.
- Annotated checklist: every item marked as reported, partially reported or missing, with the page and paragraph where it appears.
- Prioritised gap list: missing items ranked by how likely a reviewer is to raise them, each with a plain explanation of what information is needed.
- Flow diagram check: where the guideline requires one (CONSORT, PRISMA, STARD), we check that numbers at each stage add up and match the text.
- Re-review: once you have added the missing details, we check the revision and finalise the checklist for submission.
The items most often missing
- How the sample size was determined
- Eligibility criteria and how participants were recruited or selected
- Clear definitions of outcomes, exposures and confounders
- How missing data were handled
- Trial registration number and date, or protocol availability
- Numbers of participants at each stage, with reasons for exclusion
- Limitations, including sources of bias and imprecision
- Ethics approval, consent and funding statements
Where our role stops
A reporting review tells you what is missing. It does not supply the missing information, alter the methods or certify that the study was well designed. Only the authors can describe what was done. This keeps the manuscript accurate and consistent with our publication ethics policy.
Related services and guides
Find the gaps before a reviewer does
Send your manuscript and we will confirm the guideline, check every item and tell you exactly what to add.
Submit Your ManuscriptReporting guideline review: common questions
Why do journals ask for a reporting checklist?
Reporting guidelines list the minimum information readers need to judge a study's validity and reproduce it. Many journals that follow ICMJE recommendations require the completed checklist at submission, with page or line numbers, and editors may return a manuscript without review if it is missing or incomplete.
How do I know which guideline applies to my study?
It depends on the study design: CONSORT for randomised trials, STROBE for cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, CARE for case reports, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies, and others for qualitative, economic and prediction-model research. The EQUATOR Network library lists them all. Our guide on choosing a reporting guideline walks through the decision.
Will you add missing information to my methods?
We identify what is missing and explain why it matters, but only the authors know what was actually done in the study. You supply the details; we can then help you phrase them clearly. We never invent methodological details.
Does a completed checklist mean my study is good?
No. A checklist assesses how completely the study is reported, not how well it was designed or conducted. It helps reviewers find information, and reduces avoidable queries, but it does not certify quality.
How long does the review take?
Typically 3 working days for one manuscript and one checklist. After you revise, we review your responses once as part of the service.