If research is to be trusted, it must be carried out to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. Cochrane is known for its rigorous standards and resistance to commercial influence, with principles of research integrity forming a strong foundation for everything we have done and will continue to do.  

Championing research integrity is one of the four commitments in Cochrane’s scientific strategy. We continue to lead the field in trustworthiness and transparency by evolving our practices to address the most pressing challenges in research integrity and publishing ethics, and to respond to rapid advances in technology.  

Here is a wrap up of recent developments in these areas.

Defining standards for the highest levels of research integrity and transparency

We released a new decision framework for updating Cochrane reviews to ensure our reviews evolve to use the right methods and types of data to address the specific review question.  Cochrane’s ability to version our published reviews means they can be updated when needed and this framework helps authors decide when to do this, or whether the scope and methods have evolved so much they should start a new protocol.

Cochrane authors can now preprint their submitted manuscripts – be that protocols, reviews or updates – on any public preprint server at any time up until acceptance. More details are available in the RevMan Knowledge Base and Cochrane Library Editorial Policies page.

Cochrane peer reviewers can now showcase their peer review activity on their Web of Science profiles thanks to a new collaboration with Clarivate. The Web of Science Reviewer Recognition Service allows peer reviewers to track, verify and showcase their work and expertise through the platform.  

We have enhanced authorship recognition with ORCID iDs featured directly on published Cochrane reviews, where available. This ensures proper credit for researchers and strengthens transparency and trust in the research we publish. Authors are encouraged to log in to Editorial Manager and link their ORCID iDs today – so that contributions are visible, verifiable, and valued. It is now mandatory for all corresponding authors of new submissions to have an ORCID iD linked to their profile in Editorial Manager.

We have enhanced Cochrane group recognition in supporting authors of Cochrane reviews. Authors can use the byline to acknowledge the support of Cochrane groups in developing their review, which replace the previous method of listing groups in the “Information” section. See the RevMan Knowledge Base for more details.

Identifying and managing retracted publications associated with Cochrane reviews

We launched a new feature in CENTRAL, our database of reports of clinical trials, to identify and flag publications that have been retracted by the publisher. We are currently linking those studies we have identified with retracted publications to published and in progress Cochrane reviews. In addition, we have developed a framework for determining the impact of retracted included studies on review findings and conclusions, which will be available before the end of 2025, and aligns with new COPE guidance on retractions. Future developments are exploring automatic ways to inform the authors of these Cochrane reviews about the retractions, to ensure that Cochrane remains the home of trustworthy evidence.

Ensuring Cochrane reviews are based on trustworthy studies

A new tool to identify problematic trials is now available, called INSPECT-SR tool (INveStigating ProblEmatic Clinical Trials in Systematic Reviews), enabling researchers to check whether studies are trustworthy before including them in systematic reviews.

Cochrane also has a detailed policy for managing potentially problematic studies, which details what Cochrane authors and editors should do when serious concerns are raised about the trustworthiness of an included study.

Setting standards for the responsible use of AI tools

 Our role in setting standards includes understanding the accuracy, evaluation, validation and potential for bias of AI tools in evidence synthesis.  

Cochrane is continuing to advance responsible AI for evidence synthesis, which recent developments in using AI to support review authors, as well as defining best practice and approaches to implementation, particularly through our involvement in the RAISE (Responsible AI use in Evidence Synthesis) initiative, the joint AI Methods Group (in collaboration with Campbell, JBI, and the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence), our collaborations in the Wellcome-funded DESTinY project, and involvement in the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaborative (ESIC).

As we move in 2026 our focus will be on developing and maintaining a scalable framework for responsible AI use in evidence synthesis, building capacity and literacy across the Cochrane community to enable responsible AI adoption, and embedding validation and infrastructure to support responsible AI integration.

Protecting against commercial conflicts of interest

Protecting the independence of Cochrane as an organization and of our published Cochrane reviews is fundamental to our mission. To ensure we stay at the forefront of the evolving field and improve author and member experience, in 2025, we revamped both our conflicts of interest policies.  

For the Cochrane Library conflict of interest policy, we’ve overhauled how we collect declarations of interest, retired our old 2014 commercial sponsorship policy, and evolved the focus to authors, editors and peer reviewers only and made it easier to understand. In addition, the declarations of all Editorial Board members across the Cochrane Library are now easily accessible and all Cochrane Clinical Answers also include a specific declaration of interest statement.

For the Cochrane group policy, we’ve clarified who it applies to – all core staff or volunteers in any Cochrane group or entity – and updated the platform for collecting and publicly showcasing these declarations.

 

We continue to align our practices with international best standards to uphold rigorous scientific quality while promoting equity, transparency, and accountability across all stages of the publication process. These changes aim to support Cochrane authors, editors, and groups in producing high-quality, impactful reviews that meet the needs of global health decision-makers, guideline developers, and evidence users.