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Research methods
Protocol
Reporting quality of the Delphi technique in reporting guidelines: a protocol for a systematic analysis of the EQUATOR Network Library
  1. Masahiro Banno1,2,
  2. Yasushi Tsujimoto3,4,
  3. Yuki Kataoka5,6
  1. 1 Department of Psychiatry, Seichiryo Hospital, Nagoya, Japan
  2. 2 Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  3. 3 Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, School of Public Health in the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
  4. 4 Department of Nephrology and Dialysis, Kyoritsu Hospital, Kawanishi, Japan
  5. 5 Hospital Care Research Unit, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki General Medical Center, Amagasaki, Japan
  6. 6 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki General Medical Center, Amagasaki, Japan
  1. Correspondence to Dr Masahiro Banno; solvency{at}med.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Abstract

Introduction Reporting guidelines are important tools for improving the quality of medical research. The Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network’s Library contains a comprehensive and up-to-date database of reporting guidelines relevant to health research. Only 31% of reporting guidelines published from 2010 to 2014 reported using the Delphi technique, and the reporting quality of the Delphi technique in reporting guidelines is unknown even though the use of the Delphi technique was recommended in the guidance for reporting guidelines. We will assess the quality reports of the Delphi technique or modified Delphi technique in reporting guidelines.

Methods and analysis The present study is a systematic analysis of the EQUATOR Network Library. We will include all reporting guidelines in the EQUATOR Network that used the Delphi technique or modified Delphi technique, published since 1 January 2011 and registered in the EQUATOR on or before 31 May 2018. Our primary outcome is the reporting quality of the Delphi technique, measured by the quality score (each item) in the Delphi technique. We will also examine the relationship between the reporting quality score (each item) of the Delphi technique and year of publication, number of authors, impact factor, sources of funding (industry, non-industry), multiple publications and whether the guidelines are published in open access policy.

Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval will not be applicable for this study. This protocol has been registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry. We will publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal and may also present them at conferences.

Trial registration number UMIN000032685.

  • Delphi technique
  • reporting guidelines
  • systematic analysis

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024942

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors MB, YT and YK contributed to the conception and design of the research. MB is fully responsible for writing the protocol. All authors gave final approval of the protocol before submission. After the publication of the protocol, we plan for the following contributions by each author: MB, YT and YK will screen the relevant records of the EQUATOR Network Library and extract data. MB, YT and YK will conduct the data analysis without being blind to the data. MB, YT and YK will write the manuscript.

    • Funding This work was supported by the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hyogo Prefectural Amagasaki General Medical Center, Nagoya University Academy of Psychiatry and by self-funding.

    • Disclaimer The funder plays no role in developing the protocol.

    • Competing interests MB has received speaker honoraria from Dainippon Sumitomo; honoraria for a manuscript from Seiwa Shoten Co., Ltd. and travel fees from Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.