Update an existing review

Before you update a Cochrane review, you must gain approval to update. You can do this by submitting an update proposal.

Don't risk rejection - read the Conflict of interest policy

If your proposal to update a Cochrane review is accepted, you will be invited to submit a draft to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. Your author team's compliance with Cochrane’s conflict of interest policy will be checked on submission. This policy was revised in 2020 and may have changed since you last worked on a review. Check you still comply. Failure to comply is likely to result in your submission being rejected. Cochrane's conflict of interest policy places restrictions on who can be an author of Cochrane Library content, with further restrictions for first and last authors. It is the responsibility of all authors to ensure they comply with this policy.

Contact all previous authors

To update a published Cochrane review, you must include at least one author from the previous published version. See Cochrane's Updating policy. Please invite all previous authors to join your team. 

If your proposal is accepted, you must complete and upload a Changes in authorship form with your submitted update (further details in your invitation email). All authors (added and removed) must sign the form.

If no authors of the previous published version are involved, you cannot update a published review. You must update the review topic with a new protocol. You will need to attach a copy of your correspondence with the previous authors when submitting your update proposal. If the authors did not respond, please provide evidence that you attempted to contact them. If you need assistance with contacting previous authors, please contact Cochrane Support.

For new protocols, in cases of disputes, Cochrane's Editor-in-Chief, or designated deputy, in its sole discretion, or jointly with the relevant Cochrane group (when applicable), will make a final decision on the author team. 

  • Log in to Editorial Manager.
    • If you already have a Cochrane Account, your credentials will be recognised. If not, click ‘Sign up now’ on the Cochrane Account login screen and register for an account. Look out for an email asking you to verify your email address. When you have activated your account, you will be redirected to Editorial Manager.
  • On your Author Main Menu, select Submit new manuscript.
  1. Article Type Selection: select Cochrane Review Update Proposal. 
  2. Link your ORCID ID if you wish. 
  3. Attach Files: before submitting your online proposal, please contact the authors of the latest published version to invite them to join your team; or to seek agreement to a new team updating the review topic with a new protocol. When you have the correspondence saved, select Item Type Other to attach the file. Proceed.  
  4. Section/Category: choose the clinical topic area of your updated review. Proceed.
  5. Additional Information: this is the online form where you can give details of your review update. Your answers will be used to assess the merit of your proposal. Complete all questions in as much detail as possible. Proposals containing insufficient information are likely to be rejected.
    1. Follow the guidance on updating reviews in the Cochrane Handbook to justify your request to update.
    2. Explain any changes you may make to the methods or data and analyses in the published review.
    3. Do some preliminary research to answer the question on new studies eligible for potential inclusion in an update to the published review.
  6. Comments: if you have already been in contact with a Cochrane group and have the group's approval to proceed with your update, please note here: 'This proposal has been pre-approved by [named contact] on behalf of Cochrane [group name].' Proceed.
  7. Manuscript data:
    1. Title: enter the title of the published review - or explain any title changes.
    2. Keywords: detail the intervention and outcomes of your review.
    3. Authors: add full details of your author team. Please check if your co-authors already have Cochrane Accounts. If so, you must enter the same primary email used for their Cochrane Account. Please note that you should add details for individual authors but not 'group authors' such as research organisations ('Lung Cancer Research Group'). If you have any queries, contact support@cochrane.org.


Cochrane reviews are a team effort

Your proposal will be rejected if you do not include at least two authors. Your author team should have skills and experience including:

  • content knowledge relating to the topic of the review
  • knowledge of systematic review methodology (including formulating the review question and eligibility criteria, searching and assessing the risk of bias of relevant studies)
  • expertise in developing search strategies and searching medical databases (we recommend a qualified Information Specialist or Librarian)
  • statistical knowledge to extract appropriate data, conduct meta-analyses where appropriate, and interpret and discuss the results
  • ability to write a scientific report of publishable standard in English
  • project management and leadership ability (usually the named Corresponding author)
  • Build PDF for approval.
  • When the status of the PDF shows as ‘Needs Approval’ on the right-hand side of the screen, use the Action links menu on the left-hand side to View Submission. This downloads a PDF copy of your proposal for you to check. 
  • Approve submission.

Your proposal will be sent to the Cochrane Proposal Manager. You will receive an automated email confirming this. You will receive further correspondence when your proposal has been assessed by topic experts. You will usually hear from us with a decision on your proposal within 28 days. If topic experts approve your proposal, you will be invited to submit a draft protocol to Cochrane Central Editorial Service. 

Important: Please note that approving a proposal does not guarantee that an update will be accepted. You will be given a time limited period to prepare a draft update for submission. The update may be rejected after submission if it does not meet Cochrane's standards.