Background: The abstract of a scientific publication helps readers to gain an overall idea of the study and to decide whether or not they should read the full text. Within diagnostic test accuracy studies, the reporting of research designs within the abstract section is commonly inconsistent or absent. This has implications for screening on the basis of study design as well as for study identification in terms of keywords and indexing. We recently conducted an analysis of DTA studies published in English within EMBASE between 2012 and 2013 (N = 200) and found a great deal of heterogeneity in reporting of research design. On this basis, we thought it would be useful to carry out a similar analysis on DTA studies published in the Cochrane Library.

Objectives: We aim to analyse different ways in which the research design terminology of DTA studies is reported in Cochrane DTA Reviews, and to explore potential inconsistency in the terminology used to refer to different DTA designs.

Methods: We will investigate all full reviews and abstracts published by the Diagnostic Test Accuracy Working Group within the Cochrane Library to identify (a) study design reporting variation within abstracts; (b) the range of research design terms used; and (c) any inconsistency in their use.

Results: We have initiated the analysis by identifying all full reviews and abstracts published by the Diagnostic Test Accuracy Working Group within the Cochrane Library (N = 60), and results will be forthcoming.

Conclusions: As part of our analysis, we will create a frequency and distribution map of the research design reporting within titles and abstracts of all full reviews and abstracts published by the Diagnostic Test Accuracy Working Group within the Cochrane Library, with recommendations for future practice in reporting study design within diagnostic test accuracy reviews published in the Cochrane Library.