Get in the spirit with SPIRIT 2013: Protocol content guideline for clinical trials

摘要

Many journals, including Contraception, recommend guidelines to improve the quality of reporting [1]. Those reporting guidelines, such as CONSORT 2010 (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) [2], aid authors in reporting the important details of their studies. However, while essential, these guidelines only address the transparency and clarity of reporting, not the actual conduct of the study. Along those lines, Fiona Godlee and Trish Groves from the British Medical Journal have said that reporting guidelines are the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than the fence at the top.