The editorial team of the CRG is ultimately responsible for the decision to publish a Cochrane review on their module. This decision will be made following peer review and appropriate revisions by the review authors. This may take several iterations.
The editorial team of each CRG is responsible for maintaining a module, which includes information about the Group, including their editorial processes. Any specific methods used by the CRG, beyond the standard methods specified in the Handbook, should be documented in their module, including:
methods used to review protocols;
standard eligibility criteria for considering studies for inclusion in reviews;
search methods and specific search strategies used to develop and maintain the Specialized Register used by the CRG, and method of distributing potentially relevant citations or full-text reports to authors;
additional search methods that authors are instructed to use routinely;
standard methods used to select studies for reviews and any templates for inclusion assessment forms;
standard criteria or methods beyond the ‘Risk of bias’ table used to appraise the included studies; and
standard methods used for data collection and any templates for data extraction forms.
Descriptions of specific additional methods used by each CRG are published as part of the group’s module in The Cochrane Library. Authors should familiarize themselves with the contents of their Group’s module.