We are seeking Cochrane reviewers to participate in First Contact. If you are in a position to help us we'd be very grateful for any assistance you can give us. Perhaps you are a Review Group Co-ordinator, or an Editor of a Cochrane Review Group, or perhaps the organiser of a meeting or conference. We list some possiblities below, but please get in touch if you have any other ideas.
Distribution of leaflets and fliers
We have a two-side folding leaflet and a small flier with brief details of First Contact. They are available in PDF format as
Links to this web site
If you maintain a web site we'd be keen for you to link to this one, the URL of which is http://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/firstcontact. You may wish to add a short text to describe the trial. A single sentence might read something like,
A randomised trial of methods for contacting study authors in order to request information that has not been published.
A suitable paragraph might read something like,
Studies cannot be fully represented in a systematic review or meta-analysis unless all relevant information is available. First Contact is a randomised trial of an intensive method of approaching investigators based on strategies which appear to have worked in other areas. The trial investigates whether it is possible to improve success rates when trying to collect data from the original investigators.
The following text appeared in The Cochrane Collaboration Methods Groups Newsletter, Volume 4, June 2000:
Randomise to retrieve missing data
Julian Higgins (on behalf of the First Contact Steering Group)
Lack of suitable data from published reports is an almost universal problem for Cochrane reviewers. Many of us are familiar with obstacles such as unclear methods of allocation concealment, poor information about dropouts and missing standard deviations, among others. Equally problematic is the decision we have to take about whether time and money are well invested in pursuing the missing information. We surveyed Cochrane Review Groups (with Secretariat approval) to find out what advice they give to their reviewers. The typical advice was to write a simple letter of request and we wander if this can this be improved upon.
To answer this question we have developed a randomised trial. 'First Contact' will compare a simple letter with an intensive approach based on methods that appear to work based on evidence from randomised trials within population surveys. Details of the protocol are available on our website (see below). We encourage any Cochrane reviewer uncertain about the best way to make first contact with an investigator to join the trial. Randomisation will take place at the UK Cochrane Centre, and current results from a Bayesian analysis of the accumulating results will be available on-line to inform reviewers both within and outside First Contact.
For more details keep an eye on: http://www.mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk/firstcontact or contact: firstcontact@mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk
Newsletters
If you edit a newsletter, and if First Contact might be of interest to its readers, please give us a mention. You might use one of the texts above, or invite us to submit a short article (though we can't promise to write an individually tailored article in response to all requests). Please let us know when and where you publicise First Contact.
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