Standards of Reporting

Springer Nature advocates complete and transparent reporting of research. For biomedical and biological research, the checklists below must be completed before peer review, and made available to the Editors and reviewers.

Randomized controlled trials:  CONSORT

Randomized controlled trial protocols: SPIRIT

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA

Case reports: CARE

Preclinical animal studies: ARRIVE

In addition, Springer Nature strongly encourages the use of the following checklists and reporting guidelines:

Observational studies: STROBE

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocols: PRISMA-P

Diagnostic/prognostic studies: STARD and TRIPOD

Clinical practice guidelines: AGREE and RIGHT

Qualitative research: SRQR and COREQ

Quality improvement studies: SQUIRE

Economic evaluations: CHEERS