Uses of STROBE in real life Questionnaire results Myriam Cevallos ISPM Bern 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Outline Objectives Methods Results Conclusions 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Objectives Assess how the STROBE recommendations are used in real life 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Methods Online survey about the use of STROBE in real life (May – Aug 2010) Sent to: participants of previous STROBE meetings authors of commentaries, editorials or letters about STROBE journals’ editors, authors of reporting guidelines (Moose, STREGA) translators of STROBE Published in STROBE website and EQUATOR Network newsletter (Aug. 2010) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Methods 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Methods 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results N=35 (%) Persons returning completed STROBE questionnaire Researcher active in epidemiological research 24 (69) Editors of biomedical journals 8 (23) Interested but not actively involved in epidemiological research 3 (8) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results N=35 (%) When do you use the STROBE checklist Yes No Not applicable When preparing a report of an observational study? 24(73) 5(15) 4(12) When reviewing or making an editorial decision on a given study report, to assess the submitted article? 22(69) 7(22) 3(9) When conducting a systematic review including observational studies? 14(45) 9(29) 8(26) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Other uses Teaching Young researchers when writing their first paper Appraisal of observational studies workshop Writing workshops Epidemiology lectures Talks on how to write and submit papers to journals Preparing / writing study protocols Planning final manuscript writing process Designing observation epidemiological studies Setting up analysis plan Fulfilling journal’s requirement for paper’s submission Preparing manuscript for external editors 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Particularly useful Structure, simplicity, clarity, easy to apply Concise and practical checklist Template flowcharts Evidence based approach Examples and definitions Open source publication (e.g. PLoS Med) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Particularly useful for teaching Checklist (Item 10, 12, 20) Examples and Explanation Detailed explanations Statistical analysis Sources of bias and confounding Interpretation of results Discussion of matching Definitions and Boxes Translations Links and references Objectivity of the guidelines 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Suggestions for the website A link to the PRISMA-website would be useful Checklists should probably be on the home page, rather than background to STROBE Not clear when authors should used single or combined checklist 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Conclusions Most uses differ from original purpose STROBE has become an important teaching tool STROBE group may considered developing teaching module based on STROBE recommendations Common website structure for all reporting guidelines or common website (EQUATOR?) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Journals’ endorsement Myriam Cevallos ISPM Bern 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Outline Objectives Methods Results Examples Conclusions 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Objectives Determine how journals that endorse STROBE incorporated the STROBE recommendations into their online version of “Instructions to authors” 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Methods Random selection of 100 journals that endorse STROBE from the STROBE website Examination of Instructions to authors published on journals’ website (Jun.-Aug. 2010) Extraction of all the text mentioning STROBE Extraction of subject category and impact factor (ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking 2009) Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results -- such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs -- that match your search term You can use Google Alerts to monitor anything on the Web. For example, people use Google Alerts to: find out what is being said about their company or product. 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE website: endorsement section + To: strobe@ispm.unibe.ch + Google Alerts are emails sent to you when Google finds new results -- such as web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs -- that match your search term. You can use Google Alerts to monitor anything on the Web. For example, people use Google Alerts to: find out what is being said about their company or product. 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results N=100 Instructions to authors Published in journal’s website 98 Not available online 2 ISI web of knowledge Listed in the journal citation report 2009 56 Subject category* MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL 11 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 8 ORTHOPEDICS 4 Others 58 * Some journals are listed in more than one category 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results N=98  Types of journals‘ endorsement of the STROBE recommendation Journal informs authors on STROBE 27 Journal recommends authors to comply with STROBE 39 Journal requires authors to comply with STROBE Submit completed checklist 14 Refers to EQUATOR or ICMJE* 5 * Mentioned STROBE in previous version of Instructions to authors. Link to EQUATOR or to ICMJE 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Information “Reporting guidelines may be accessed as follows” “The following links may be useful as you prepare your manuscript for submission” “we draw your attention in particular to the following guidelines on the presentation of particular forms of scientific article:” Author Tools & Resources Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs STROBE Observational studies in epidemiology… 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Journals’ recommendations “Observational studies please follow the STROBE guidelines” “we recommend authors to adhere to the following reporting guidelines:” “Authors are strongly recommended to consult the following reporting guidelines: “ Reports of case control, cohort and crosssectional studies should conform to the STROBE guidelines. 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Journals’ requirements When an observational study is submitted we will ask authors for: * a completed STROBE checklist - uploaded as a supplemental file to the submitted paper. Research articles must satisfy the following criteria: 7. The article adheres to appropriate reporting guidelines (e.g. CONSORT, MIAME, STROBE, EQUATOR) and community standards for data availability. The board of Academic Editors, and any invited external peer reviewers, will evaluate submissions against these criteria. Authors are required to follow these guidelines, include a flow diagram within the manuscript, and complete the most appropriate checklist for the submitted paper (cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional design), including it as the last page of the manuscript. Observational studies (cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional designs) must be reported according to the STROBE statement (see also External link http://www.strobe-statement.org). 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

Refers to EQUATOR or ICMJE … AJPM joins other major medical journals in supporting the following reporting guidelines. * The EQUATOR (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research) network …the ICMJE’s Uniform Requirements. In those requirements, it is also recommended that certain study designs follow particular structures for optimum reporting. Links to those specific recommendations can be obtained from the ICMJE website. 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication (April 2010) Authors are encouraged also to consult reporting guidelines relevant to their specific research design. A good source of reporting guidelines is the EQUATOR Network (http: //www.equator-network.org/home/) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results N=87  Included a web address STROBE Statement homepage 63 STROBE publication 9 EQUATOR network website 11 Journal’s internal webpage (STROBE checklist) 3 ICMJE website 1 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Results ISI web of knowledge N=56 Citation report 09 Impact factor median(min/max) Requires 25 4.693 (0.716/30.758) Recommends 21 2.597 ( 0.57/17.457) Informs 8 1.389 (0.203/9.792) Equator/ICMJE 2 5.298 (4.235/6.36) 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Inconsistencies (?) Describe the study design in detail using standard methodological terms, such as retrospective or prospective cohort study, ... …Submissions reporting cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies should conform to the format suggested by the STROBE panel. [Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery] For study types other than Randomized Controlled Trials, the Editors request that you please check the following guidelines prior to submitting your manuscript to ensure that the highest ethical standards for research are maintained. [Annals of Surgery] We encourage creativity and originality and recognize that not all papers can or should meet these guidelines. You will increase the likelihood of acceptance, however, by identifying and justifying deviations from guideline recommendations in the paper or in your cover letter [Annals of Emergency Medicine] STROBE recommend that authors refrain from simply calling a study ‘prospective' or ‘retrospective' because these terms are ill defined [29]. 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Conclusions Encouraging that after 3 years more than 100 journals endorse STROBE Ambiguity in the wording of some journals to whether they require or recommend authors to adhere to STROBE Journals should enforce the use of STROBE recommending authors to submit a completed checklist as a requirement for submission STROBE group may consider providing journals recommendations on how to endorse STROBE 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision

STROBE Statement revision Thanks! 11.11.2018 STROBE Statement revision