Cochrane groups providing support
Recognizing groups in the byline
From June 2025, the use of the 'group attribution' function in RevMan is encouraged as a mechanism for recognizing the Cochrane group or groups that have supported authors in producing their submission.
Note that access to RevMan's 'group attribution' function is restricted to individuals with 'unit lead' permissions. Authors may ask their unit lead or Cochrane Support for assistance in adding a group attribution to the byline. See Author and author support roles and Attributions in RMW Knowledge Base.
Specify the non-author contributions
If a 'supported by' phrase is used in the byline to recognize a Cochrane group, then a statement must be included in the article clarifying that the group's support represents a non-author contribution. This statement should be placed in the Acknowledgements section.
Authors should also use the Acknowledgements section to specify the individual contributions of the non-authors in the group, first seeking their permission to be named as stated in the editorial policy on acknowledgements.
Text for the group attribution
Unit leads and Cochrane Support should use the following syntax when using group attributions for recognition of support:
Group type | Enter into group attribution field: | |
|---|---|---|
CRG | supported by the | Cochrane [topic name] Review Group |
CESU | supported by the | Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Unit (CESU) [region name] |
Thematic Group | supported by the | Cochrane [topic name] Thematic Group |
Geographic Group
| supported by | Cochrane [group's region name] |
Note that the recommended phrase for Geographic Groups excludes both the and Group. | ||
If multiple groups have supported a submission, enter all groups' names into a single attribution field, preceded by a single phrase of 'supported by'.
Additional information
Use of the byline for group recognition replaces the previous method of listing groups in the 'Information' section of CLIB articles. For the use of group attributions in the context of Cochrane's editorial policy on authorship, see Special circumstances in the author byline: Group name.
Previous recognition method
The following information was applicable prior to consolidation of editorial functions to the Central Editorial Service.
- All contributing groups must agree to be named on the article, and their agreement should come as early as possible in the editorial process.
- The nature of the support must be editorial (e.g. shared editors, shared editorial process, joint peer review), or it may take the form of shared funding for the review between the groups.
- Review authors should be made aware of the arrangement and must be given the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the groups before publication.
- The review will appear under all groups in the annual metrics reports provided by the publisher.
Up to five editorial groups can be recorded as contributors to a Cochrane Library article; however, only one of them can be the Primary Group, appearing first in the published list and retaining editorial permissions during the editorial process. Further information on group roles as well as instructions for implementing the list of contributing groups can be found in the Archie Knowledge Base.