About the Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1465-1858) is a collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making, and a seventh database that provides information about Cochrane groups.

Editorial staff and editorial board | Oversight Committee | Databases

Editorial staff and editorial board

Editor in Chief

Dr David Tovey is the first Editor in Chief of the Cochrane Library (since 2009). Dr Karla Soares-Weiser is the Deputy Editor in Chief.

Editorial board

• Lisa Bero, Senior Editor, Public Health and Health Services Network
• Michael Brown, Senior Editor, Acute and Emergency Care Network
• Tammy Clifford, Senior Adviser (Evidence User Communities)
• Chris Eccleston, Senior Editor, Brain, Nerves and Mind Network
• Paul Garner, Senior Adviser (Innovations and Review Production)
• Sally Green, Senior Adviser (Knowledge Translation)
• Julian Higgins, Senior Methods Adviser
• Asbjørn Hrobjartsson Senior Editor (Interim), Circulation and Breathing Network
• Toby Lasserson Senior Editor (Interim), Children and Families Network
• Nicole Skoetz, Senior Editor, Cancer Network
• Karla Soares-Weiser, Deputy Editor in Chief, Cochrane
• Peter Tugwell, Senior Editor, Long-Term Conditions and Ageing 2 Network
• Jimmy Volmink, Senior Adviser (Equity and Diversity)

Cochrane Review Group editorial teams

Each Cochrane Review Group includes one or more Co-ordinating Editors, Managing Editors, and Information Specialists, also supported by a team of specialist editors. Information about each team is available on Cochrane Review Group websites.

Editorial staff (Cochrane)

Deputy Editor in Chief: Karla Soares-Weiser

Senior Editors: Toby Lasserson, Harriet MacLehose

Editors: Liz Bickerdike, John Hilton, Nuala Livingstone, Monaz Mehta, Newton Opiyo, Bryony Urquhart

Podcast Editor: Mike Clarke

Statistical Editor: Kerry Dwan

Information Specialist: Ruth Foxlee

Publisher editorial team (Wiley)

Publisher: Deborah Pentesco-Gilbert

Production Manager: David Hives

Editor: Gavin Stewart

Associate Editor: Tony Aburrow

Assistant Editor: Sophia Wheat

Oversight Committee

The Cochrane Library Oversight Committee supports the Editor in Chief's editorial independence by providing a mechanism for avoiding or resolving disputes about the content of the Cochrane Library or any editorial positions taken by the Editor in Chief in respect to the Cochrane Library that may arise.

The current membership of the Oversight Committee is listed here. The Committee can be contacted via ceu@cochrane.org.

Databases

• Overview
• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) 
• Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) 
• Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR) 
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) 
• Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA) 
• NHS Economic Evaluation Database (EED) 
• About The Cochrane Collaboration

Overview

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care.

The CDSR includes all Cochrane Reviews (and protocols) prepared by Cochrane Review Groups. Each Cochrane Review is a peer-reviewed systematic review that has been prepared and supervised by a Cochrane Review Group (editorial team), according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions or Cochrane Handbook for Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews. Further information is available here.

CDSR is built throughout the month, with new and updated reviews and protocols being continuously published when ready.

Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) is a highly concentrated source of reports of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials. In addition to bibliographic details (author, title, source, year, etc) CENTRAL records often include an abstract (a summary of the article). They do not contain the full text of the article. Further information is available here.

CENTRAL is published monthly. 

Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects

The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) is the only database to contain abstracts of systematic reviews that have been quality-assessed. Each abstract includes a summary of the review together with a critical commentary about the overall quality.

DARE is a key resource for busy decision-makers and can be used for answering questions about the effects of specific interventions, whether such questions arise from practice or when making policy. DARE covers a broad range of health related interventions and thousands of abstracts of reviews in fields as diverse as diagnostic tests, public health, health promotion, pharmacology, surgery, psychology, and the organization and delivery of health care.

DARE complements the CDSR by quality-assessing and summarising reviews that have not yet been carried out by Cochrane.

DARE was produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, UK, until April 2015. Funding for DARE ceased at the end of March 2015. The last updates to DARE were published in the April 2015 issue of the Cochrane Library (published 30 April 2015). The April 2015 updates contain bibliographic records from searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PubMed until the end of 2014. Since April 2015 the Cochrane Library has hosted the archived versions. 

Cochrane Methodology Register

The Cochrane Methodology Register (CMR) is a bibliography of publications that report on methods used in the conduct of controlled trials. It includes journal articles, books, and conference proceedings, and the content is sourced from MEDLINE and hand searches. CMR contains studies of methods used in reviews and more general methodological studies that could be relevant to anyone preparing systematic reviews. CMR records contain the title of the article, information on where it was published (bibliographic details), and, in some cases, a summary of the article. They do not contain the full text of the article.

The CMR was produced by the UK Cochrane Centre, until 31 May 2012. The future of the CMR is under review and the database has not been updated since July 2012. For further information on the status of the CMR please contact Jackie Chandler, Cochrane Methods Co-ordinator (jchandler@cochrane.org).

For more information see About the Cochrane Methodology Register.

The Publisher, Wiley, thanks Update Software for the continued use of their data formats in the CMR. 

Health Technology Assessment Database

The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Database brings together details of completed and ongoing health technology assessments (studies of the medical, social, ethical, and economic implications of healthcare interventions) from around the world. The aim of the HTA Database is to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.

The HTA database is produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York, UK, using information obtained from members of International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) and other health technology assessment organizations.

The HTA Database was updated quarterly until October 2016. The HTA Database was last updated in the Cochrane Library in October 2016. The HTA database continues to be produced by CRD.

NHS Economic Evaluation Database

As healthcare resources are finite, information about both costs and effects are essential to making evidence-based decisions about competing healthcare interventions. But information about cost-effectiveness can be difficult to identify, appraise, and interpret.

The NHS Economic Evaluation Database (EED) assists decision-makers by systematically identifying economic evaluations from around the world, appraising their quality, and highlighting their relative strengths and weaknesses.

NHS EED was produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York, UK. until April 2015. Funding for NHS EED ceased at the end of March 2015. The last updates to NHS EED were published in the April 2015 issue of the Cochrane Library (published 30 April 2015). The April 2015 updates contain bibliographic records from searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and PubMed until the end of 2014. Since April 2015 the Cochrane Library has hosted the archived versions. 

About The Cochrane Collaboration database

The About The Cochrane Collaboration database contains information on the Cochrane groups within Cochrane. The database includes contacts and information on the aims and scope of the Cochrane Review Groups, Methods Groups, Fields, and Networks, along with information about Cochrane Centres and the Cochrane Editorial Unit.

The Publisher, Wiley, thanks Update Software for the continued use of their data formats for other Cochrane groups (other than Cochrane Review Groups) in this database.