Headings
Add or adjust a subheading
Additional subheadings can be added within sections. You can add nested headings at a level below the level of the current heading for most sections (heading level 2 and below). RevMan will display the available headings in the formatting toolbar, and you can select the heading level you would like to add there.
Leave out headings that are not required
A heading will not be published if there is no text in the text box directly below the heading.
You will see a warning in the validation report if some sections are left blank, but these will not block submission of the revew, as there are legitimate reasons for these sections being blank. Text in certain sections is necessary and you will see an error on the validation report if the section is blank, that must be resolved before submission.
Intervention review subheadings
The intervention review template aids authors in what to report where to ensure compliance with PRISMA and will improve consistency across Cochrane reviews for readers.
The following table shows how intervention review headings will change with the switch to the focused review format. If an author switches an ongoing protocol or review to the focused review format, the below indicates where text will move to if a section is removed.
Heading changes with an asterisk (*) apply to all review types.
| Level 1 heading | H1 |
| Level 2 heading | H2 |
| Level 3 heading | H3 |
| Level 4 heading | H4 |
Focused intervention review format (red text indicates a change) | Previous intervention review format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
(H1) Title | (H1) Title |
|
(H1) Abstract | (H1) Abstract |
|
(H2) Rationale | (H2) Background |
|
(H2) Objectives | (H2) Objectives |
|
(H2) Search methods | (H2) Search methods |
|
(H2) Eligibility criteria | (H2) Selection criteria |
|
(H2) Outcomes | New | |
(H2) Risk of bias | New | |
(H2) Synthesis methods | (H2) Data collection and analysis |
|
(H2) Included studies | New | |
(H2) Synthesis of results | (H2) Main results |
|
(H2) Authors' conclusions | (H2) Authors' conclusions |
|
(H2) Funding* | New | |
(H2) Registration* |
| New |
(H1) Plain language summary | (H1) Plain language summary |
|
(H1) Plain language summary title | (H1) Plain language summary title |
|
Key messages | Key messages |
|
Tailored heading: for example, What is epilepsy? | Tailored heading: for example, What is epilepsy? |
|
Optional tailored heading: for example, How is epilepsy treated? | Optional tailored heading: for example, How is epilepsy treated? |
|
What did we want to find out? | What did we want to find out? |
|
What did we do? | What did we do? |
|
What did we find? | What did we find? |
|
Main results | Optional heading: Main results |
|
What are the limitations of the evidence? | What are the limitations of the evidence? |
|
How up to date is this evidence? | How up to date is this evidence? |
|
(H1) Summary of findings | (H1) Summary of findings |
|
Summary of findings tables | Summary of findings tables |
|
(H1) Background | (H1) Background |
|
(H2) Description of the condition | (H2) Description of the condition |
|
(H2) Description of the intervention and how it might work | (H2) Description of the intervention |
|
|
| Section removed; text moved to ‘Description of the intervention and how it might work’ section |
(H2) Why it is important to do this review | (H2) Why it is important to do this review |
|
(H1) Objectives | (H1) Objectives |
|
(H1) Methods | (H1) Methods |
|
(H2) Criteria for considering studies for this review | (H2) Criteria for considering studies for this review |
|
(H3) Types of studies | (H3) Types of studies |
|
(H3) Types of participants | (H3) Types of participants |
|
(H3) Types of interventions | (H3) Types of interventions |
|
(H2) Outcome measures | (H3) Types of outcome measures |
|
(H3) Critical outcomes | (H4) Primary outcomes |
|
(H3) Important outcomes | (H4) Secondary outcomes |
|
(H2) Search methods for identification of studies | (H2) Search methods for identification of studies |
|
(H3) Electronic searches | (H3) Electronic searches |
|
(H3) Searching other resources | (H3) Searching other resources |
|
(H2) Data collection and analysis | (H2) Data collection and analysis |
|
(H3) Selection of studies | (H3) Selection of studies |
|
(H3) Data extraction and management | (H3) Data extraction and management |
|
(H3) Risk of bias assessment in included studies | (H3) Assessment of risk of bias in included studies |
|
(H3) Measures of treatment effect | (H3) Measures of treatment effect |
|
(H3) Unit of analysis issues | (H3) Unit of analysis issues |
|
(H3) Dealing with missing data | (H3) Dealing with missing data |
|
|
| Section removed; text moved to end of ‘Synthesis methods’ section |
(H3) Reporting bias assessment | (H3) Assessment of reporting biases |
|
(H3) Synthesis methods | (H3) Data synthesis |
|
(H3) Investigation of heterogeneity and subgroup analysis | (H3) Subgroup analysis and investigation of heterogeneity |
|
(H4) Equity-related assessment | New | |
(H3) Sensitivity analysis | (H3) Sensitivity analysis |
|
(H3) Certainty of the evidence assessment (L3) | (H3) Summary of findings and assessment of the certainty of the evidence |
|
(H2) Consumer involvement | New | |
(H1) Results | (H1) Results |
|
(H2) Description of studies | (H2) Description of studies |
|
(H3) Results of the search | (H3) Results of the search |
|
(H3) Included studies | (H3) Included studies |
|
(H3) Excluded studies | (H3) Excluded studies |
|
(H2) Risk of bias in included studies | (H2) Risk of bias in included studies |
|
(H2) Synthesis of results | (H2) Effects of interventions |
|
(H3) Equity assessment |
| New |
(H3) Reporting biases | New | |
(H1) Discussion | (H1) Discussion |
|
(H2) Summary of main results | (H2) Summary of main results |
|
(H2) Limitations of the evidence included in the review | (H2) Overall completeness and applicability of evidence |
|
|
| Section removed; text moves to beginning of ‘Limitations of the evidence included in the review’ section |
(H2) Limitations of the review processes | (H2) Potential biases in the review process |
|
(H2) Agreements and disagreements with other studies or reviews | (H2) Agreements and disagreements with other studies or reviews |
|
(H1) Authors conclusions | (H1) Authors conclusions |
|
(H2) Implications for practice | (H2) Implications for practice |
|
(H3) Equity-related implications for practice | New | |
(H2) Implications for research | (H2) Implications for research |
|
(H3) Equity-related implications for research | New | |
(H1) Supplementary materials* | (H1) Appendices |
|
All supplementary materials listed |
|
|
(H1) Additional information | (H1) Additional information |
|
(H2) Acknowledgements | (H2) Acknowledgements |
|
(H2) Contributions of authors | (H2) Contributions of authors |
|
(H2) Declarations of interest | (H2) Declarations of interest |
|
(H2) Sources of support | (H2) Sources of support |
|
|
| Section removed; text moved to beginning of ‘Methods’ section* |
(H2) Registration and protocol* | New | |
(H2) Data, code and other materials* | New | |
(H2) Notes | (H2) Notes |
|
(H2) What's new | (H2) What's new |
|
(H2) History | (H2) History |
|
(H1) References | (H1) References |
|
(H1) Figures | (H1) Figures |
|
(H1) Tables* | (H1) Additional tables |
|
Flexible reviews
In the 'Text' section of flexible reviews only the Heading 1 (H1) level is displayed. Sub-headings can be created by authors from the formatting toolbar. See