Rejection Policy

We follow Cochrane's policy on the Rejection of Cochrane Reviews.  

In summary, a Cochrane review can be rejected at any stage before publication. The decision to reject usually falls within one of four categories: poor quality, repeatedly missing set timelines, lack of core competencies by the author team or concerns about research and publication ethics. 

The authors retain the right of the content and may pursue publication elswhere. No reference can be made to the manuscript having been a Cochrane Review and no acknowledgement of any support received by us (e.g. running of database searches) should be made. 

We may hand over the title to a new author team. 

Any disagreements with the decision to reject will need to follow the Cochrane Appeals Policy. 

Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal relates to published protocols, reviews or updates and we follow Cochrane's policy on withdrawals. For unpublished manuscripts, the rejection policy applies.

Appeals Policy

If authors disagree with a decision we made regarding a protocol, review or update they may appeal following Cochrane's Appeal Policy. 

Appeals can either be based on errors in the editorial process or errors in the decision.