care giver or caregiver (be consistent)

care-giver

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Centers for Disease Control
Center for Disease Control
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Centre for Disease Control
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

Chi² statistic
Chi² test

Chi-squared test or statistic
Chi-square test or statistic
χ² statistic

a computer-generated image

the image was computer generated

a computer generated image

the image was computer-generated

controlled before-and-after trials

controlled before and after trials

cross-over study/trial

cross over study/trial or crossover study/trial

double-blind

Note: also single-blind, triple-blind

double blind

Note: also single blind, triple blind

dropout

Note: the verb form is 'drop out’ without hyphenation

drop-out
drop out

e-learning

Note: at start of sentence use 'E-learning' with an intial capital

elearning

e learning

end point or endpoint

Note: 'time point' should be written as two separate words (see below)

end-point

evidence base

e.g. Production of a robust systematic review can contribute to the evidence base ...

evidence-base

evidence-based

e.g. evidence-based medicine

evidence based

false positive (noun)

e.g. The result was a false positive.

false-positive (adjective)

e.g. The false-positive result was misleading.

Note: follow this guidance for true positive, false negative, and true negative (nouns) and true-positive, false-negative, and true-negative (adjectives).

— 

fixed-effect model

Note: compared with random-effects model

Note: there is also a fixed-effects model (i.e. when the pool of studies is assumed to be fixed and only provides an estimate of the average of the effects of just these studies, without aiming at generalization to future studies), but this would rarely be appropriate for a Cochrane Review. If used it should be clearly indicated to avoid being changed to fixed-effect model.

fixed effect model
fixed-effects model

follow up (verb) or follow-up (adjective or noun)

e.g. 'Seven participants were followed up for 10 days.' (verb)

e.g. 'The follow-up period was 10 weeks.' (adjective)

e.g. 'The follow-up was shorter than expected.' (noun)

—

forest plot

Note: for further information, see Lewis S, Clarke M. Forest plots: trying to see the wood and the trees. BMJ 2001;322(7300):1479-80.

forrest plot

More recently, GRADE assessments refer to ‘certainty’, rather than ‘quality’. Use the terminology consistent with the GRADE guidance of software you are using, and in ‘Summary of findings’ tables, use the corresponding wording for the grades of evidence (see below).

For certainty:

GRADE Working Group grades of evidence
High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect.
Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different.
Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited; the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect.
Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate; the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

For quality:

GRADE Working Group grades of evidence
High quality: further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect.
Moderate quality: further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate.
Low quality: further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate.
Very low quality: we are very uncertain about the estimate.

Note: for further information, see The GRADE Working Group clarifies the construct of certainty of evidence.

See also: Handbook version 6, chapter 14.

'Gram' should be capitalized and not hyphenated when used as Gram stain; gram negative and gram positive should be lowercase and only hyphenated when used as a unit modifier.

e.g. Gram staining

e.g. the bacteria were gram negative

e.g. gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

gram positive and gram negative bacteria

gram staining showed ...

handsearch

e.g. We handsearched three journals.

e.g. The handsearching process ...

hand search
hand-search

health care (noun) or healthcare (adjective)

e.g. 'The healthcare centre is nearby.' (adjective)

e.g. 'The health care was satisfactory.' (noun)

—

I² statistic

I-squared statistic
I-square statistic
I² test

intention-to-treat analysis

intention to treat analysis

internet or Internet (be consistent)

—

low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries
 

Note: see the classifications of all countries according to their economies on the World Bank website^a

developing countries
developed countries

multiple-drug resistance
multiple-drug resistant

multidrug resistance
multidrug resistant

number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome

number-needed-to-treat-for-an-additional-beneficial-outcome

number needed to treat to benefit

number needed to treat for an additional harmful outcome

number-needed-to-treat-for-an-additional-harmful-outcome

number needed to treat to harm

online

on-line
on line

open-label

open label

participant or person; participants or people

Note: use participant (for people participating in any trials/studies mentioned in the review) or person instead of subject or patient, unless it changes the meaning of the text (e.g. people with ulcers rather than patients with ulcers). If trials are exclusively concerned with a single population, such as children or women, use children or women instead of participants.

—

per cent

Note: also see ‘percentage sign’ in General guidance on the use of punctuation

percent

preoperative

perioperative

postoperative

pre-operative or pre operative

peri-operative or peri operative

post-operative or post operative

quality:

low-quality (adjective)

moderate-quality (adjective)

high-quality  (adjective)

e.g. high-quality evidence

low quality (adjective)

moderate quality (adjective)

high quality  (adjective)

random-effects model

random effects model
random-effect model

regimen

regime

risk of bias

e.g. We assessed the risk of bias in the included studies.



 

‘ Risk of bias’ assessment
 

e.g. We completed a 'Risk of bias' assessment.

‘Risk of bias’ table

e.g. We present our judgements in 'Risk of bias' tables.

e.g. We assessed the ‘risk of bias’ in the included studies.
e.g. We assessed the ‘Risk of bias’ in the included studies.
e.g. We assessed the risk-of-bias in the included studies.

Risk of bias assessment, Risk-of-bias assessment, ‘risk of bias’ assessment, RoB assessment

Risk of bias table, Risk-of-bias table, ‘risk of bias’ table, RoB table

short-term or long-term (adjective)

e.g. short-term follow-up was three months

short term or long term (noun)

e.g. outcomes that occurred in the short term

 —

‘Summary of findings’ table

Note: use in same way as 'Risk of bias' above

Summary of findings table
Summary-of-findings table
‘summary of findings’ table
SoF table

subgroup

sub-group
sub group

Tau²

Tau-squared
Tau-square
Tau² statistic
Tau² test
T²
τ²

text word

textword

time point

timepoint
time-point

time-to-event analysis/data

time to event analysis/data

wait list or wait-list control (US English)

waiting list or waiting-list control (UK English)

waitlist, wait list control

waiting-list, waiting list control

website

web site

well-being

well being
wellbeing

white (adjective)

e.g. The white participants …

white (noun)

Note: avoid 'Caucasian' unless there is a specific reason to use it. See the section on ethnic group names.

world wide web or World Wide Web (be consistent)

—

World Health Organization

World Health Organisation