A plea to authors: ensure your studies comply with guidelines

The BMJ asks all authors of randomised trials to make sure that their trials comply with the CONSORT criteria.¹ If they submit trials that do not comply then we send them back. We do this knowing that it will make review of the paper faster and more effective and improve the quality of what we eventually publish.² Similarly authors of systematic reviews are asked to present them so that they comply with QUORUM,³ and the BMJ has participated in the study of the effectiveness of these guidelines. Moves are now afoot to produce statements on the presentation of other sorts of studies, including qualitative and observational studies.

Oddly, we have been less energetic with asking authors of economic evaluations to present them so that they comply with the guidelines the BMJ produced.⁴ This may be false modesty or perhaps just a simple human failing. Spurred on, however, by the authors of this editorial we will now ask all authors to present economic evaluations so that they comply with our guidelines. Ideally authors will do this themselves, but if they don't we will send the papers back.