The final report presenting results and conclusions from the CEU’s Plain Language Summary pilot project is now available.
Over the past six months, seven Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs) have been piloting the use of a Plain Language Summary (PLS) template and checklist developed by Cochrane Norway. CRG editorial staff have sent the template to their review authors, used the template to write PLSs themselves, and/or used the checklist on PLSs written by review authors.
CRG editorial staff involved in the pilot found the template to be useful and feasible to implement. While they had several suggestions about how we could improve the template, they all plan to use it after the pilot period has ended.
We still lack data about the experiences of review authors who have used the template. However, based on the positive feedback that the template received from editorial staff, the report suggests that the PLS template is made an official Cochrane resource. The report also suggests several issues that should or could be addressed, either before or after official approval.
Current versions of the template and checklist that were used in the pilot are available on Cochrane Norway’s website.
If you have any comments or questions on the report's recommendations or suggested next steps, please get in touch with Julie Wood (jwood@cochrane.org).