Cluster randomised trials in the medical literature: two bibliometric surveys.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Several reviews of published cluster randomised trials have reported that about half did not take clustering into account in the analysis, which was thus incorrect and potentially misleading. In this paper I ask whether cluster randomised trials are increasing in both number and quality of reporting.

Methods

Computer search for papers on cluster randomised trials since 1980, hand search of trial reports published in selected volumes of the British Medical Journal over 20 years.

Results

There has been a large increase in the numbers of methodological papers and of trial reports using the term 'cluster random' in recent years, with about equal numbers of each type of paper. The British Medical Journal contained more such reports than any other journal. In thi

SUBMITTER: Bland JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC515302 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature