Please be advised that Cochrane has moved its editorial processes to the online submission system Editorial Manager.

Cochrane invites prospective authors to propose new Cochrane Reviews by submitting a proposal in Editorial Manager. Please see the Cochrane Library information for authors for further details.

Submitting a new title proposal

Due to capacity, we are only accepting a few new title registrations per year. You are welcome to submit a title proposal if you are interested in authoring a topic of your choice. Please bear in mind that we are only likely to accept clinically important topics that have not already been covered in another review. The final decision to register a new title lies with our editorial team, and even worthy titles may not be selected if resource or priority concerns arise.

The first step in submitting a title for consideration for a Cochrane review is coming up with a worthwhile research question. Ideally, titles should be unique, on a clinically relevant topic and of a reasonable scope so that the protocol and review can be completed within a year to 18 months. Also, author teams need to have the appropriate skills, experience, and capacity to complete the protocol, review, and subsequent review updates to Cochrane standards. You may wish to review Cochrane’s guidance on Proposing and registering new Cochrane Reviews before preparing your submission. The author team must also adhere to the Cochrane conflict of interest policy.

Before submission:

1. Check the Scope of Cochrane Gut and ensure your title falls within our remit and not that of another Cochrane Review Group. 

2. Assess the Risk of Duplication:

• Search the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews to see if an overlapping review has been published or is in production
• Search PROSPERO (an international register of systematic reviews) to determine whether similar reviews are already underway.
• You may also wish to conduct an informal scoping search to get a sense of any other recent guidelines, systematic reviews, and relevant trials on the topic of interest
• If there is real or perceived overlap or risk of duplication, consider how your review will differ meaningfully from that of existing titles

After submission:

• Submitted proposals are circulated amongst the Cochrane Gut editors for approval and recommendations for peer referees. We consider new titles monthly, so there may be a short delay in providing a decision.
• If any concerns are raised at this stage, regarding the appropriateness of the title or the ability of the author team to complete the review, the title may still be rejected, or we may ask you for additional information.
• Cochrane’s broader rejection policy, conflict of interest policy, and commercial sponsorship policy will apply throughout the lifecycle of your review. Please review them and ensure you are familiar with all relevant editorial policies.