Evaluating how clear the questions being investigated in randomised trials are: systematic review of estimands.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To evaluate how often the precise research question being addressed about an intervention (the estimand) is stated or can be determined from reported methods, and to identify what types of questions are being investigated in phase 2-4 randomised trials.

Design

Systematic review of the clarity of research questions being investigated in randomised trials in 2020 in six leading general medical journals.

Data source

PubMed search in February 2021.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies

Phase 2-4 randomised trials, with no restrictions on medical conditions or interventions. Cluster randomised, crossover, non-inferiority, and equivalence trials were excluded.

Main outcome measures

Number of trials that stated the precise primary question being

SUBMITTER: Cro S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9396446 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature