Learn from the evidence

Foundations of research methodology

For: Clinicians, students and allied health professionals starting research

From a clinical question to a registered protocol: study designs, bias, sample size, ethics and registration.

• Frame a structured research question
• Choose a study design that fits the question
• Write and register a protocol

Evidence-based practice and critical appraisal

For: Clinicians, dentists, nurses and pharmacists

How to find, appraise and apply evidence, including risk-of-bias tools and certainty-of-evidence ratings.

• Appraise trials and systematic reviews
• Interpret GRADE certainty ratings
• Apply evidence to a clinical decision

Scientific writing and publishing

For: Early-career researchers and prospective authors

Structuring a manuscript, using reporting guidelines, authorship and the peer-review process.

• Structure a manuscript to a reporting guideline
• Apply authorship criteria
• Respond constructively to peer review

Systematic review protocol workshop

For: Review teams preparing a protocol

A practical workshop that takes a review team from question to a PROSPERO-ready protocol and PRISMA-compliant plan.

• Draft eligibility criteria and a search strategy
• Plan risk-of-bias and synthesis methods
• Prepare protocol registration

Visual abstract workshop

For: Authors and editors

Turning a study’s key question, method and result into an accurate single-panel visual summary.

• Identify the one finding to show
• Lay out a visual abstract
• Check it against the paper for accuracy

Peer review in practice

For: Researchers new to reviewing

What editors need from reviewers, how to structure a review, and the ethical duties of reviewers.

• Structure a constructive review
• Recognise reporting and integrity problems
• Apply confidentiality and conflict-of-interest rules

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

Cochrane

The official guide to how Cochrane systematic reviews of interventions are planned, run and reported. The current edition is version 6.5 (2024), edited by Julian Higgins and James Thomas, and it can be read online at no cost.

EQUATOR Network reporting guideline library

EQUATOR Network

A searchable catalogue of more than 700 reporting guidelines for health research. You can filter it by study type, clinical area and report section to find the right checklist for a manuscript.

GRADE Handbook

GRADE Working Group

A handbook by Schünemann, Brożek, Guyatt and Oxman on rating the certainty of evidence and the strength of recommendations with the GRADE approach. It was last updated in 2013 and, according to the page, is being replaced by the newer GRADE Book, but it remains available online.

SPIRIT and CONSORT reporting guidelines (2025)

SPIRIT–CONSORT Group

The official home of the 2025 SPIRIT checklist for trial protocols and the 2025 CONSORT checklist for reporting randomised trial results. Checklists, explanation papers and free online writing aids can all be downloaded at no cost.

PRISMA 2020 statement

PRISMA Group

The main reporting guideline for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The site provides the checklist, the flow-diagram template, the explanation papers, extensions for other review types and translations.

ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

The widely adopted standards on authorship, conflicts of interest, peer review and publication ethics for medical journals. The latest version, updated January 2026, can be read online or downloaded as a PDF.

Medical illustration

Explore our gallery of professional medical illustrations.

Insights

Read articles, updates, and perspectives from our team.