CONSORT Study

A CONSORT Extension for Complex Social  Interventions

This CONSORT  Extension is a collaboration of the Centre for Evidence Based Intervention at the University of Oxford, the Centre for Outcomes Research and Effectiveness at University College London,  and the School of Sociology, Social Policy & Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast, in association with the CONSORT Group.

Aim

To create an evidence-based guideline for reporting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of complex social interventions.

Background

Many interventions in criminology, education, psychology, public health, social work, and related fields are complex (following the MRC Guidelines for Complex Interventions).

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)  are widely used for evaluating these complex social interventions. Understanding these RCTs requires detailed reports of the interventions tested and the methods used to evaluate them. However, trial reports often omit important information.  Incomplete and inaccurate reports prevent readers from using research to greatest advantage, wasting resources and failing to meet ethical obligations to research participants and consumers. 

The CONSORT Statement is aguidelinewidely used in medicine to help authors report RCTs. The original  statement and later extensions  have improved the quality of medical trial reporting, but there has been limited uptake in other fields.

Scientists who develop and evaluate complex social interventions need a reporting guideline that is appropriate for the trials that they conduct.

We are developing a CONSORT extension that will meet this need.

We invite you to get involved! Please complete the CONSORT Extension participant form.

You can also contact us via CONSORT.study@spi.ox.ac.uk 

Project Executive

Prof Paul Montgomery

Dr Evan Mayo-Wilson

Mr Sean Grant

Prof Geraldine Macdonald

Prof Susan Michie

Dr David Moher