Cochrane Summaries - The Cochrane Library for Consumers 

The new website provides a consumer-friendly display of abstracts, plain language summaries (PLS) and related resources for individual reviews.Browse the latest Cochrane plain language summaries at https://summaries.cochrane.org.  

Plain Language Expectations for Authors of Cochrane Summaries (PLEACS)

Along with the Cochrane Editorial Unit (CEU) and the Consumers’ Executive, a new working group will finalize and adopt format and style guidelines for plain language summaries. This collaborative effort will improve the conten and consistency of plain language summaries. Click here for full details.

Translation of Plain Language Summaries

Cochrane Summaries will include translations of plain language summaries in the six languages of the WHO (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese). 

Standard Checklist for Consumer Referees

To help new and experience consumers alike, the checklist will include explanations of the criteria that consumers should use when commenting on protocols and reviews. This checklist will be used across review groups to support consumers involved in the review process.

Refining Plain Language Titles

Catherine McIlwain and a team of consumer referees have examined the quality of existing titles. Nearly one-fourth of all titles were judged to need revision. In addition, a character limit of 150 characters (about 25 words) has been recommended for future titles to facilitate better display on the internet. 

Improved Training Options

A new training website is in development for consumers that will include the production of more interactive training tools. Tools are currently located in Cochrane Consumer Learning (/cochrane-consumer-learning) on CCNet’s website.