Checklists to improve the quality of the orthopaedic literature

Several checklists have been developed in an effort to help journals and researchers improve the quality of reporting in research. The CONSORT statement and the CLEAR NPT evaluate randomized trials. The MOOSE and QUOROM checklists evaluate meta-analyses. The STROBE checklists assists readers in evaluating observational studies and the STARD checklist was developed for diagnostic test evaluation. The checklists presented here provide an invaluable source of guidance to authors, journal editors and readers who are seeking to prepare and evaluate reports. As evidence-based medicine continues to establish itself as the new paradigm by which medicine is practiced, the need for good reporting for all research designs must also become commonplace as opposed to the exception.