Guidance
What does this topic cover?
Advocacy for transparency and integrity in research is about calling for improvements in the way that research is prioritized, funded, planned, conducted and published.
It touches upon key topics such as:
- The need for unconflicted and independent research
- Clinical trial transparency
- Access to clinical study reports (CSRs)
- Reducing research waste
- Addressing research misconduct
- Highlighting gaps in evidence
Why does it matter?
These issues go to the core of Cochrane: without access to relevant, unconflicted and accurate data, our reviews will not be of the quality we want.
Our vision for this area of work is a world in which all information needed for high quality reviews is accurate, unconflicted and accessible; that gaps in evidence are defined and used for guiding decisions on investment in research; and that the research community also contributes to reducing waste.
Cochrane positions and policies
Cochrane statements and publications
- Cochrane's statement to the 73rd World Health Assembly (May 2020)
A statement to the 73rd World Health Assembly, which focused on COVID-19. In this statement, Cochrane drew attention to the amount of research being published on COVID-19 and the need for evidence synthesis to help make sense of findings, as well as the importance of trial transparency, so that results can be accessed. - Cochrane’s statement in support of EMA’s clinical study report transparency policy (January 2020)
A statement supporting the European Medicines Agency on their policy to proactively publish clinical study reports. - Cochrane statement in support of European regulators as they urge clinical trial sponsors to share their results (10 July 2019)
A statement calling on clinical trial sponsors – particularly within academia – to meet the reporting obligations for their studies. - Clinical Trial Transparency – A Guide for Policy Makers (2017)
A report co-published by Cochrane, TranspariMED, Transparency International and the Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency that highlights the dangers of inadequate reporting of clinical trials and makes policy recommendations to improve the situation.
