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Using the EQUATOR Network library

Stetleaf Academy

Reviewed by Alex Juusela, MD, MPH, FACOG, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician · Last reviewed 2026-11-05

The EQUATOR Network keeps a free online library of reporting guidelines for health research. Instead of hunting across journal websites for the right checklist, you can search one place by study type, download the current version and see which extensions exist. This article shows how to use that library to find a guideline, confirm you have the current version, and cite it clearly in your manuscript.

Why it matters

Incomplete reporting makes research hard to use and hard to repeat, and it wastes the resources that went into the study [1]. Reporting guidelines are consensus lists of what a report of a given design should contain. The EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) is an international initiative set up to advance high-quality reporting of health research; it promotes the use of reporting guidelines, keeps free online resources, and supports education and the development of robust guidelines [1].

For authors, the practical value is simple: one library, searchable by study type, with links to the statement, the explanation and elaboration paper, and any extensions. For peer reviewers and editors, the same library is a quick way to name the checklist that fits a manuscript and to point authors to missing items by number.

Key ideas

What the library holds

The library collects reporting guidelines and related documents. Each entry typically links to the main statement, an explanation and elaboration paper when one exists, translations, extensions and any related tools such as a flow diagram. Start at the reporting-guidelines page and browse by study type, or search by name (for example STROBE, CONSORT or CARE) [2].

Search by design, then check extensions

Match the guideline to the design of the study, not to the clinical topic. A randomized trial points you to CONSORT; a cohort, case-control or cross-sectional study to STROBE; a systematic review to PRISMA; a case report to CARE; and so on. Once you have the main guideline, open its EQUATOR entry and look for extensions that fit your design, data source or topic (for example RECORD for routinely collected data, or a cluster-trial extension). Use the main guideline plus every extension that applies, and say so in the methods.

Confirm the current version

Guidelines are updated. The library entry and the guideline's own website are the places to check the year and version before you cite. An older PDF on your hard drive, or a checklist a colleague emailed last year, may no longer be current. Some extensions were written against an earlier version of their parent guideline, so item numbers can differ; note which versions you used.

Read the explanation and elaboration

The short checklist tells you what to report; the explanation and elaboration paper shows examples and the reasons behind each item. Read both before you draft, especially for items you have not reported before. The library entry is the usual route to both documents.

Cite what you used

In the methods, name each guideline and version (and any extension), and state that you followed it. At submission, many journals ask for a completed checklist with page or line numbers. The EQUATOR entry is also a stable place to point readers who want the full guideline.

What the library is not

EQUATOR does not design your study, does not judge whether a study was well done, and does not replace journal instructions or peer review. It helps you find and use the reporting guidance that fits the design you already chose.

Worked example

Illustrative example (invented). Not a real study.

A fellow is writing up a single-centre cohort study that used five years of hospital discharge records to compare readmission after planned versus unplanned cesarean birth.

  1. Open the library. At the EQUATOR reporting-guidelines page the fellow chooses observational studies and finds STROBE [2].
  2. Check extensions. The same page, and the STROBE entry, list RECORD for studies that use routinely collected health data. Because the data are discharge records, RECORD applies as well.
  3. Confirm versions. The fellow opens the linked statement pages and notes the current STROBE and RECORD versions and years, rather than relying on a checklist saved during residency.
  4. Download and read. The fellow downloads the STROBE cohort checklist, the RECORD checklist and the explanation and elaboration papers, and reads the items that cover setting, participants, variables and data sources before drafting the methods.
  5. Write it into the manuscript. Methods: "We followed the STROBE statement (cohort checklist) and the RECORD extension for studies using routinely collected health data." At submission the fellow attaches both checklists with page numbers filled in.
  6. Point a reviewer to the source. When a reviewer asks where the coding of "unplanned cesarean" is described, the fellow can point to the paragraph and to the RECORD item that asks for how variables were identified in the records.

Common pitfalls

  • Bookmarking an old PDF. Check the library or the guideline site for the current version every time.
  • Stopping at the main guideline. Missing an extension that fits your data source or design.
  • Choosing by disease area. The library is organised by study design; two papers on the same condition can need different guidelines.
  • Citing EQUATOR instead of the guideline. Cite the guideline statement itself; EQUATOR is where you found it.
  • Ignoring the explanation and elaboration. The short checklist alone is easy to misread.
  • Treating the checklist as a judgment of study quality. It lists what to report; it does not say how good the study is.

Quick self-check, in our own words

  • I found my guideline by study design in the EQUATOR library.
  • I checked the same entry for extensions that apply to my design or data.
  • I confirmed the year and version against the library or the guideline's own site.
  • I have the statement and, where it exists, the explanation and elaboration.
  • My methods name each guideline and version I followed.
  • I know where to point a reader or reviewer who wants the full guideline.
  • I have also read the target journal's instructions about checklists.

Further reading

  • Simera and colleagues describe the EQUATOR Network's goals and how reporting guidelines support clearer research reports [1].
  • The EQUATOR library is the starting point for finding guidelines, extensions and current versions [2].
  • Related Stetleaf Academy articles: How to choose the right reporting guideline for your study.

References

  1. Simera I, Moher D, Hirst A, Hoey J, Schulz KF, Altman DG. Transparent and accurate reporting increases reliability, utility, and impact of your research: reporting guidelines and the EQUATOR Network. BMC Med. 2010;8:24. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-24. PMID: 20420659.
  2. EQUATOR Network. Library for health research reporting [Internet]. EQUATOR Network. Available from: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/