Registering randomized clinical trials and the case for CONSORT.

Abstract

Recent controversies in medical research and the increasing reliance on randomized clinical trials to inform evidence-based practice have prompted coordinated attempts to standardize reporting and register information about trials for consistency and transparency. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials guidelines (D. G. Altman et al., 2001) and trial registry are described in this article, and the implications for clinical and experimental research in psychopharmacology are discussed.