Dates and events

Get it right before publication


What's new events in the Dates and events section in RevMan can be added by authors but should be reviewed by editors before publication.

Please note that Cochrane does not currently publish amendments to correct author affiliations or emails. Authors should confirm their contact information is correct when reviewing their proofs. If you have any queries about this, please contact support@cochrane.org. 

As a general rule:

  • For an Update use the Updated event with a new citation event.
  • For an Amendment use the Amended event with or without a new citation event.

 What's new events cannot be changed after publication - if you have any doubts about what information to enter, please contact support@cochrane.org

Date of search

The Date of search field in RevMan should show the date of the latest search for which results were fully incorporated into the review.

If different databases were searched on different dates, the earliest of these dates should be entered as the Date of search. 

The Date of search field is not published. The search date must be reported in the Abstract and Search methods for publication. 

What's new events

Add a What’s new event in RevMan when publishing an Amendment or an Update. These events relate to publication; and explain why the review is being republished at this specific time and with specific changes since the last published version. They are not a log of decisions or actions in the life of the review.

  • The event chosen determines whether a version gets a new citation on the Cochrane Library
  • Dates and descriptions entered show in the Version History on the Cochrane Library

The date and description of What’s New events should be useful to Cochrane Library readers. What's new events help users of Cochrane evidence to understand the type of change that has merited a republication. In particular, the extent of changes since the last published version and whether the conclusions have been changed. 

What's new events and PubMed

  • A new citation event will generate a new digital object identifier (DOI) and citation in external databases, including PubMed.
  • Wiley should be notified of amendments with no new citation so that changes to the following details can be updated manually in PubMed: Author order; Author names; Joint authorship; Title; Abstract. Author affiliations can also be updated in PubMed by Wiley, but amendments to update affiliations alone are to be avoided. Cochrane Support can notify Wiley of relevant changes once the amended review is published. For further information contact support@cochrane.org.uk


Select the correct What's new event

Correct What's new events for different publication types are set out in the table below. It is very important to select the correct events, to prevent publication errors.

Use case

Article type

Type of change 

Conclusions changed?

New citation version?

"What’s new" events to select in RevMan

Wording displayed for event on the Cochrane Library

"What’s new" description to add in RevMan 

AReview
  • Results of a new search:
    • Addition of new studies to Included studies, Excluded studies or Ongoing studies
    • If no new studies were identified
    • If studies are added to Awaiting classification only, use an Amended event - see below
  • Change in status of a study:
    • Full inclusion of a study previously awaiting classification
    • Removal of one or more studies previously included (e.g. when studies have been retracted)

Yes

Yes

(1) Updated

AND

(2) New citation: conclusions changed

(1) New search has been performed

(2) New citation required and conclusions have changed


If a new search was conducted, the search date can be added to the description of the 'Updated' 'What's new' event


See also Reporting search dates.

 

No

Yes

(1) Updated

AND

(2) New citation: conclusions not changed

(1) New search has been performed

(2) New citation required but conclusions have not changed

BReview
  • Any changes to the following sections or elements (except for minor text or formatting errors that do not impact the data or review findings or interpretation):
    • Abstract
    • Plain Language Summary
    • Summary of Findings Tables
    • Scope of the review (e.g. new outcomes, comparisons, types of participants or developments in the intervention or its delivery)
    • Methods
    • Results (e.g. in effect estimates or confidence intervals)
    • Certainty in the results (as expressed by GRADE ratings)
    • Conclusions
    • Licence for Publication type (e.g. Green to Gold Open Access)

Yes

Yes

(1) Amended

AND

(2) New citation: conclusions changed

(1) Amended

(2) New citation required and conclusions have changed

Concisely describe what has changed and any resulting change to conclusions, including direction and magnitude of effect and certainty of evidence (1-2 sentences maximum). 

For example: Amendment to Analysis 1.2 due to prior data entry error. GRADE rating for [comparison, outcome] amended from moderate certainty evidence to low certainty evidence.

 

No

Yes

(1) Amended

AND

(2) New citation: conclusions not changed

(1) Amended

(2) New citation required but conclusions have not changed

CProtocol
  • An important change to the objectives or scope of the proposed review (e.g. new outcomes or changes to the priority or definition of the outcomes, comparisons, methodology, types of participants or developments in the intervention or its delivery)

Not applicable

Yes

(1) New citation: major change

(1) New citation required and major changes

DReview or protocol
  • Minor typographical errors that do not impact the data, findings or interpretation
  • Changes to information presented in the background section that will not otherwise affect the eligibility criteria (e.g. amending definition or burden of disease, or updating supporting references)
  • One or more studies removed from ‘Studies awaiting classification’
  • New search performed, but studies not fully incorporated into the results of the review (i.e. added to ‘Studies awaiting classification’)*
  • Republishing a withdrawn review to add new information to the withdrawal notice (e.g. to indicate that the review has been superseded by a different review)
  • Addition of an Editorial note (see Editorial notes)
  • Changes to author details (see Authorship policy and note above on citations in PubMed). 

No

No

(1) Amended

(1) Amended

Add a What's New event

Go to About this review > Dates and events.

In the 'What's new' panel, click on the 'Add event' button. See What’s new events.

  • Include a maximum of two new What’s New events.
  • The Date should be the date of publication (or as close to it as possible) - this is because this date will show as the citation date on the Cochrane Library.
  • The Description is visible to readers. Please explain changes clearly and concisely.



Move a What's New event to History

When you republish a new version, the What’s New events from previous published versions must be moved to the History.

To move a What's new event to the History, click on the  'Action' button to the right-hand side of the relevant event. Then choose 'Move to history'.