Cochrane Style Manual
Tautology

Avoid tautology, that is "the saying of the same thing twice over in different words" (The New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998).

Examples of tautology

Tautology

No tautology

We excluded trials of children with a history of headaches in the past.

We excluded trials of children with a history of headaches.

UK pressure ulcer prevalence estimates specifically for community settings have reported rates of 0.77 per 1000 adults in a UK urban area.

Pressure ulcer prevalence estimates specifically for community settings have reported rates of 0.77 per 1000 adults in a UK urban area.

Resource use (when presented as mean values with standard deviation) including measures of resource use, such as number of dressing changes, number of nurse visits, length of hospital stay, need for other interventions.

Resource use (when presented as mean values with standard deviation) including measures such as number of dressing changes, number of nurse visits, length of hospital stay, need for other interventions.

Statistical heterogeneity was described by Chi2 6.41; P value 0.27; I2 22%; indicating low statistical heterogeneity.

Statistical heterogeneity was low (Chi2 = 6.41; P = 0.27; I2 = 22%).