Abstract
Background: The quality of clinical research may be improved by the adoption of validated reporting guidelines and clinical trial registration policies. It is unknown how well journals in the field of urology mandate the use of these tools by prospective authors. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the instructions to authors of urology journals to determine the requirement of reporting guideline adherence for commonly used study designs and the requirement of clinical trial registration.
Methods: Using the 2021 Scopus CiteScore tool, we identified 94 urology journals. For each journal, we analyzed the “instructions to authors'' webpage and identified statements regarding reporting guidelines for popular study designs as proposed by the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of health Research (EQUATOR) Network and clinical trial registration requirements in a masked, duplicate fashion. Each journal was contacted to confirm article types that are accepted. Descriptive statistics were calculated using Stata 17.0 (StataCorp, LLC, College Station, TX) to summarize data.
Results: Of the 94 Urology journals examined, less than a third (27/94) mentioned the EQUATOR network in their “instructions to authors.” CONSORT was the most adhered to guideline with 52.7% (48/91) of the journals either recommending or requiring it for publication. The least adhered guideline was QUOROM with 7.6% (7/92) of journals recommending or requiring adherence. All other investigated guidelines fell below 50% adherence. Clinical trial registration was not required by 4 (4.3%) journals, not mentioned by 36 (38%), recommended by 18 (19%), and required by 36 journals (38%).
Conclusion: We found that urology journals do not properly adhere to reporting guidelines and inconsistently require clinical trial registration. Journal adoption of validated guidelines is important to enhance the quality of research reporting, promote transparency, and prevent reporting bias. Therefore, we suggest that urology journals consider adopting stricter reporting guideline policies and improve the rate at which clinical trial registration is required.
Methods: Using the 2021 Scopus CiteScore tool, we identified 94 urology journals. For each journal, we analyzed the “instructions to authors'' webpage and identified statements regarding reporting guidelines for popular study designs as proposed by the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of health Research (EQUATOR) Network and clinical trial registration requirements in a masked, duplicate fashion. Each journal was contacted to confirm article types that are accepted. Descriptive statistics were calculated using Stata 17.0 (StataCorp, LLC, College Station, TX) to summarize data.
Results: Of the 94 Urology journals examined, less than a third (27/94) mentioned the EQUATOR network in their “instructions to authors.” CONSORT was the most adhered to guideline with 52.7% (48/91) of the journals either recommending or requiring it for publication. The least adhered guideline was QUOROM with 7.6% (7/92) of journals recommending or requiring adherence. All other investigated guidelines fell below 50% adherence. Clinical trial registration was not required by 4 (4.3%) journals, not mentioned by 36 (38%), recommended by 18 (19%), and required by 36 journals (38%).
Conclusion: We found that urology journals do not properly adhere to reporting guidelines and inconsistently require clinical trial registration. Journal adoption of validated guidelines is important to enhance the quality of research reporting, promote transparency, and prevent reporting bias. Therefore, we suggest that urology journals consider adopting stricter reporting guideline policies and improve the rate at which clinical trial registration is required.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 50 |
| State | Published - 17 Feb 2023 |
| Event | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Week 2023 - Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17th street, Tulsa, United States Duration: 13 Feb 2023 → 17 Feb 2023 https://medicine.okstate.edu/events/index.html?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D160681489 |
Conference
| Conference | Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences Research Week 2023 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Tulsa |
| Period | 13/02/23 → 17/02/23 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- urology
- adherence
- guidelines