Publishing the protocol

This section contains the following:

Introduction
Things to consider when developing your research question and writing a protocol
Additional resources

Introduction

In order to promote the conduct of high quality research many peer reviewed journals, with the advent of electronic publication sites, now encourage researchers to publish their research protocol. In 1999 an article in the Lancet by Chalmers I and Altman DG highlighted the problems of discrepancies between research protocols and the subsequent report of the research. Publishing protocols ensures transparency in reporting, with any revisions to the protocol being highlighted and documented and prevents bias in reporting of the results.

Things to consider

Most journals will not consider publishing the protocol until the trial has been registered.
When submitting for publication provide a detailed account of the hypothesis, rationale and methodology of the proposed study.

Illustrative example - MAPS
A 500 word summary of the MAPS protocol, detailing the background, aims, methods and design is published on the Lancet website. Protocol 07PRT/588: Conservative treatment for urinary incontinence in men after prostate surgery (MAPS): multicentre randomised controlled trial of pelvic floor muscle training (ISRCTN 87696430) (MAPS Trial - go to published protocol)

Illustrative example - MAPS

A 500 word summary of the MAPS protocol, detailing the background, aims, methods and design is published on the Lancet website.

Protocol 07PRT/588: Conservative treatment for urinary incontinence in men after prostate surgery (MAPS): multicentre randomised controlled trial of pelvic floor muscle training (ISRCTN 87696430)

(MAPS Trial - go to published protocol)

Additional resources

BioMed Central

The open access peer reviewed journal site, for bio medical research which invites submission of protocols for publication. Although there are fees for publication reductions are given to submissions form low and middle income countries.

The Lancet

The Lancet will assess protocols of randomised trials and will publish summaries on their website