About The Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library 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 groups in The Cochrane Collaboration.

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
• Cochrane Methodology Register
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects
• Health Technology Assessment Database
• NHS Economic Evaluation Database
• About The Cochrane Collaboration

Editor in Chief

Dr David Tovey is the first Editor in Chief of The Cochrane Library (since 2009) and oversees the CDSR content.

Dr Tovey is based in the Cochrane Editorial Unit, along with Harriet MacLehose (Senior Editor) and Toby Lasserson (Senior Editor), Rachel Marshall (Editor), John Hilton (Editor), and Ruth Foxlee (Information Specialist). You can contact the Editor in Chief via email at editorial-unit@cochrane.org. Other contact details are available on the Cochrane Editorial Unit website.

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. publishes The Cochrane Library. Deborah Pentesco-Gilbert, publisher, can be contacted at:

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK. Email: dpentesc@wiley.com.

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 in The Cochrane Collaboration. Each Cochrane Review is a peer-reviewed systematic review that has been prepared and supervised by a Cochrane Review Group (editorial team) in The Cochrane Collaboration according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions or Cochrane Handbook for Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews. Find out more about Cochrane Reviews and Protocols.

Impact factor

The 2010 Impact Factor for the CDSR is 6.186. The CDSR is ranked in the Top Ten of the Journal Citation Reports® (JCR) "Medicine, General & Internal" category. Download a fact sheet for the 2010 CDSR Impact Factor here. A fact sheet for the 2009 CDSR Impact Factor is available here. 

If you are interested in attending an Impact Factor Webinar, please contact Gavin Stewart gstewart@wiley.com  +44 (0)1243 770 686.

Cochrane Review Groups

The Cochrane Reviews in the CDSR are prepared by authors who register titles with one of the 53 Cochrane Review Groups. Each Cochrane Review Groups focuses on a specific topic area and is led by a Co-ordinating Editor(s) and an editorial team including a Managing Editor and Trials Search Co-ordinator. The Cochrane Review Groups provide authors with methodological and editorial support to prepare Cochrane Reviews, and manage the editorial process, including peer review.

Cochrane Review Group	Co-ordinating Editor(s)	Contact
Acute Respiratory Infections	Prof Chris Del Mar, Anne GM Schilder	Website | Details in 'About' database
Airways	Dr Chris Cates	Website | Details in 'About' database
Anaesthesia	Prof Anne Merete Møller, Prof Nathan Pace	Website | Details in 'About' database
Back	Dr Claire Bombardier, Prof Maurits W van Tulder	Website | Details in 'About' database
Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma	Dr Helen HG Handoll, Prof Rajan Madhok	Website | Details in 'About' database
Breast Cancer	Ms Davina Ghersi, Dr Nicholas Wilcken	Website | Details in 'About' database
Childhood Cancer	Dr Leontien CM Kremer, Dr Elvira van Dalen	Website | Details in 'About' database
Colorectal Cancer	Prof Richard L Nelson, Peer Wille-Jørgensen	Website | Details in 'About' database
Consumers and Communication	Dr Sophie Hill	Website | Details in 'About' database
Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders	Dr Alan R Smyth	Website | Details in 'About' database
Dementia and Cognitive Improvement	Dr Jenny McCleery, Dr Rupert McShane	Website | Details in 'About' database
Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis	Dr Rachel Churchill	Website | Details in 'About' database
Developmental, Psychosocial and Learning Problems	Prof Geraldine Macdonald	Website | Details in 'About' database
Drugs and Alcohol	Dr Marina Davoli	Website | Details in 'About' database
Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders	Mr Martin J Burton	Website | Details in 'About' database
Effective Practice and Organisation of Care	Prof Jeremy Grimshaw	Website | Details in 'About' database
Epilepsy	Prof Anthony G Marson	Website | Details in 'About' database
Eyes and Vision	Mr Richard Wormald	Website | Details in 'About' database
Fertility Regulation	Prof Frans M Helmerhorst	Website | Details in 'About' database
Gyneacological Cancer	Dr Chris Williams, Dr Jo Morrison	Website | Details in 'About' database
HIV/AIDS	Dr George W Rutherford, Dr Nandi Siegfried	Website | Details in 'About' database
Haematological Malignancies	Prof Andreas Engert, Dr Nicole Skoetz	Website | Details in 'About' database
Heart	Dr Juan-Pablo Casas, Prof Shah Ebrahim	Website | Details in 'About' database
Hepato-Biliary	Dr Christian Gluud	Website | Details in 'About' database
Hypertension	Dr James M Wright	Website | Details in 'About' database
Incontinence	Prof Cathryn MA Glazener, Prof  James MO N'Dow	Website | Details in 'About' database
Infectious Diseases	Prof Paul Garner	Website | Details in 'About' database
Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Functional Bowel Disorders	Dr Brian G Feagan	Website | Details in 'About' database
Injuries	Dr Pablo Perel, Prof Ian Roberts	Website | Details in 'About' database
Lung Cancer	Dr Fergus MacBeth, Dr Sera Tort	Website | Details in 'About' database
Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility	Prof Cindy Farquhar	Website | Details in 'About' database
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	Prof Bernd Richter	Website | Details in 'About' database
Methodology Review	Prof Mike J Clarke, Dr Andrew D Oxman	Details in 'About' database
Movement Disorders	Prof Cristina Sampaio	Website | Details in 'About' database
Multiple Sclerosis and Rare Diseases of the Central Nervous System	Dr Graziella Filippini	Website | Details in 'About' database
Musculoskeletal	Prof Rachelle Buchbinder, Dr Peter Tugwell	Website | Details in 'About' database
Neonatal	Dr Roger Soll	Website | Details in 'About' database
Neuromuscular Disease	Dr Michael PT Lunn, Dr Rosaline Quinlivan	Website | Details in 'About' database
Occupational Safety and Health	Dr Jos Verbeek	Website | Details in 'About' database
Oral Health	Dr Jan E Clarkson, Prof Helen V Worthington	Website | Details in 'About' database
Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care	Prof Christopher Eccleston	Website | Details in 'About' database
Peripheral Vascular Diseases	Dr Jackie Price, Prof Gerry Stansby	Website | Details in 'About' database
Pregnancy and Childbirth	Prof Zarko Alfirevic, Prof James P Neilson	Website | Details in 'About' database
Prostatic Diseases and Urologic Cancers	Dr Mike Shelley, Dr Timothy J Wilt	Details in 'About' database
Public Health	Prof Elizabeth Waters	Website | Details in 'About' database
Renal	Prof Jonathan C Craig, Dr Angela C Webster	Website | Details in 'About' database
Schizophrenia	Prof Clive E Adams	Website | Details in 'About' database
Sexually Transmitted Diseases	See HIV/AIDS	See HIV/AIDS
Skin	Prof Hywel C Williams	Website | Details in 'About' database
Stroke	Peter Langhorne	Website | Details in 'About' database
Tobacco Addiction	Dr Tim Lancaster	Website | Details in 'About' database
Upper Gastrointestinal and Pancreatic Diseases	Dr Grigorios I Leontiadis, Prof Paul Moayyedi	Website | Details in 'About' database
Wounds	Prof Nicky A Cullum	Website | Details in 'About' database

Publication Frequency

The Cochrane Library databases CDSR, Central & About are published monthly. DARE, CMR, HTA & EED are published quarterly with the DVDs, according to a regular schedule.

Access

All Cochrane Reviews are published in the CDSR. The CDSR is published online monthly (from 2010) with quarterly DVDs. As outlined on the access page, access is free for many people in low-income and middle-income countries via a number of initiatives. This is in addition to general access options, including national licenses (eg such as in the United Kingdom) and subscriptions.

For authors

Authors of registered Cochrane Reviews should contact their Cochrane Review Group for support, information about editorial processes, and information about editorial deadlines.

Authors interested in preparing a Cochrane Review should contact the Cochrane Review Group that covers the area of interest for information about the registration process. Prospective authors should first browse the CDSR to identify whether the topic of interest is already covered by an ongoing protocol or review.
View “How to prepare a Cochrane Review” for further information, including author resources and training information.

History and milestones

1972	Publication of Archie Cochrane's 'Effectiveness and Efficiency: random reflections on health services' , which drew attention to our collective ignorance about the effects of health care
1974	Identification of controlled trials in perinatal medicine begins in Cardiff, Wales, UK
1979	Archie Cochrane publishes an essay in which he suggests that "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomised controlled trials." He also designates obstetrics the least scientific medical specialty
1985	Publication of classified bibliography of 3500 reports of controlled trials in perinatal medicine published between 1940 and 1984
1989 to 1992	Maintenance of systematic reviews of controlled trials of perinatal care in six-monthly disk issues of an electronic journal, The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials (ODPT)
October 1992	The first Cochrane Centre opened (in the UK) and the first Cochrane Review Groups were registered (Pregnancy and Childbirth Group, and the Subfertility Group)
April 1993	Update Software reissues The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials (ODPT) as a redesigned pilot electronic journal entitled The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database (CCPC)
August 1993	Formal launch of The Cochrane Collaboration at the 1st Cochrane Colloquium, in Oxford, UK
October 1994	First public demonstration of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), designed and published by Update Software
February 1995	CDSR launched in London by the English Minister for Health
March 1996	The Cochrane Library launched by Update Software as a quarterly publication on CD-ROM and disk, incorporating the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, and Cochrane Review Methodology Database
August 1996	CDSR available on the World Wide Web
April 1997	Electronic Comments and Criticisms System launched within the CDSR
January 2001	One thousandth Cochrane Review published
April 2002	The Cochrane Library made free at the point of use, under the HINARI programme
October 2002	John Wiley and Sons Limited publish The Cochrane Library
October 2003	Launch of La Cochrane Library Plus en español
June 2008	First impact factor: 4.654 for 2007; ranked 14 out of 100 worldwide journals in the Medicine, General and Internal category
January 2009	First Editor in Chief of The Cochrane Library, Dr David Tovey Number of published Cochrane Reviews and Protocols reaches 5676 in Issue 1, 2009
January 2010	CDSR moves to monthly publication
August 2011	Cochrane Reviews have new online 'Look and Feel'
January 2012	Cochrane CENTRAL moves to monthly publication

How to submit comments and feedback

Feedback on individual Cochrane Reviews is welcomed, and there is a dedicated process for this. Readers of a review or protocol can do this by clicking on the “submit comments” button, under ARTICLE TOOLS, on the right-hand side of the review.

Number of included protocols and reviews

As of Feb Issue2, 2012, the CDSR includes 7092 records: 4978 reviews; and 2114 protocols. This Issue includes 49 new reviews, 43 updated reviews (40 with a new search and 3 with changed conclusions), 67 new protocols and 11 updated protocol. There are also 8 withdrawals. (3 withdrawn reviews and 5 withdrawn protocols).

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 summarizing reviews that have not yet been carried out by The Cochrane Collaboration.

DARE is produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York, UK.

Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials

The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) includes details of published articles taken from bibliographic databases (notably MEDLINE and EMBASE), and other published and unpublished sources. CENTRAL records include the title of the article, information on where it was published (bibliographic details) and, in many cases, a summary of the article. They do not contain the full text of the article.

About three-fifths of the records in CENTRAL are taken from MEDLINE. Also, each Cochrane Review Group maintains and updates a collection of controlled trials relevant to its own area of interest, these are called ‘Specialized Registers’. Each Cochrane Review Group may also collect items that are not relevant to its own field of interest; these are known as ‘Handsearch Results’.

All Cochrane Review Groups’ Specialized Registers, the handsearch results register, relevant records retrieved from MEDLINE, and relevant records retrieved from EMBASE, are merged as described here and published as CENTRAL.

The Publishers, John Wiley & Sons Ltd acknowledges the contribution made by Elsevier to CENTRAL by the provision of EMBASE records (Copyright © 2008 Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam. All Rights Reserved). EMBASE records can be identified by a sole EMBASE ID in the Accession Number field. Wiley also thanks Update Software for the continued use of their data formats in CENTRAL.

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 is produced by the UK Cochrane Centre, on behalf of the Cochrane Methodology Review Group.

Further information on using CMR can be viewed here.

The Publishers, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, thanks Update Software for the continued use of their data formats in the Cochrane Methodology Register (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.

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 is produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York, UK.

About The Cochrane Collaboration database

The About The Cochrane Collaboration database contains information on the 80 groups (Issue 2, 2012) that make up The Cochrane Collaboration.

You will find contacts and information on the aims and scope of the Cochrane Review Groups, Methods Groups, Fields, and Networks, along with details of your nearest Cochrane Centre as well as the Cochrane Editorial Unit and Cochrane Collaboration Secretariat.

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

Number of published articles in the cochrane library

All Databases: total

Database	Year Of Earliest Record	Total published
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews*	2005	7092
Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects	1994	16773
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials^	1898	667476
Cochrane Methodology Register	1951	15144
Health Technology Assessment Database	1989	10997
NHS Economic Evaluation Database	1968	11720
About The Cochrane Collaboration**	2004	80
Editorials	2010	35

* Comprises 4978 published reviews and 2114 protocols, of which 49 are new reviews, 43 updated reviews (comprises 40 new search and 3 conclusions changed), 67 new protocols, and 11 updated protocol. There are also 3 withdrawn reviews and 5 withdrawn protocols.

** The Cochrane Collaboration: 1; Cochrane Editorial Unit: 1; Cochrane Review Groups (CRGs): 53; Fields: 11; Methods Groups: 16. There are also 14 Centres (some with specific Branches). Links to their individual websites can be found here.

^ Ferbruary Issue comprises of 3543 records. 

Cochrane database of systematic reviews: in 2011 - 2012

Published Articles	Iss 3	Iss 4	Iss 5	Iss 6	Iss 7	Iss 8	Iss 9	Iss 10	Iss 11	Iss 12	Iss 1	Iss 2
New reviews	31	19	28	35	39	19	36	41	46	55	37	49
Updated reviews	42	37	31	27	39	32	37	38	39	48	31	43
New search	30	31	26	22	30	24	32	36	35	33	24	40
Conclusions changed	12	6	5	5	9	8	5	2	4	15	7	3
New protocols	43	31	46	37	52	35	43	70	56	61	65	67
Updated protocols	0	1	1	3	3	3	1	2	5	6	3	11
Withdrawn reviews	2	4	4	2	3	1	3	1	0	1	3	3
Withdrawn protocols	12	9	8	11	9	3	5	6	7	1	8	5
Total in CDSR	6581	6602	6641	6671	6720	6747	6791	6858	6909	6967	7027	7092

TOP 20 Cochrane database of systematic reviews in 2010. (IN RANK ORDER)

Review Title	Authors	First Published
Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.	Lesley D Gillespie, M Clare Robertson, William J Gillespie, Sarah E Lamb, Simon Gates, Robert G Cumming, Brian H Rowe	Issue 1, 2009
Interventions for preventing obesity in children.	Carolyn D Summerbell, Elizabeth Waters, Laurel Edmunds, Sarah AM Kelly, Tamara Brown, Karen J Campbell	Issue 2, 2005
Interventions for preventing falls in older people in nursing care facilities and hospitals.	Ian D Cameron, Geoff R Murray, Lesley D Gillespie, M Clare Robertson, Keith D Hill, Robert G Cumming, Ngaire Kerse	Issue 4, 2009
Interventions for treating obesity in children.	Hiltje Oude Luttikhuis, Louise Baur, Hanneke Jansen, Vanessa A Shrewsbury, Claire O'Malley, Ronald  P Stolk, Carolyn D Summerbell	Issue 4, 2008
Support surfaces for pressure ulcer prevention.	Elizabeth McInnes, Nicky A Cullum, Sally EM Bell-Syer, Jo C Dumville	Issue 2, 2004
Discharge planning from hospital to home.	Sasha Shepperd, Jacqueline McClaran, Christopher O Phillips, Natasha A Lannin, Lindy M Clemson, Annie McCluskey, Ian D Cameron, Sarah L Barras	Issue 4, 2003
Interprofessional collaboration: effects of practice-based interventions on professional practice and healthcare outcomes.	Merrick Zwarenstein, Joanne Goldman, Scott Reeves	Issue 2, 2009
Midwife-led versus other models of care for childbearing women.	Marie Hatem, Jane Sandall, Declan Devane, Hora Soltani, Simon Gates	Issue 3, 2008
Interventions for promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy.	Judith Lumley, Catherine Chamberlain, Therese Dowswell, Sandy Oliver, Laura Oakley, Lyndsey Watson	Issue 3, 2004
Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants.	Elizabeth R Moore, Gene C Anderson, Nils Bergman	Issue 2, 2007
Interventions for enhancing medication adherence.	R. Brian Haynes, Elizabeth Ackloo, Navdeep Sahota, Heather Pauline McDonald, Xiaomei Yao	Issue 3, 2005
Exercise or exercise and diet for preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus.	Leonardo J Orozco, Ana Maria Buchleitner, Gabriel Gimenez-Perez, Marta Roqué i Figuls, Bernd Richter, Didac Mauricio	Issue 1, 2007
Exercise for depression.	Gillian E Mead, Wendy Morley, Paul Campbell, Carolyn A Greig, Marion McMurdo, Debbie A Lawlor	Issue 1, 2007
Interprofessional education: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes.	Scott Reeves, Merrick Zwarenstein, Joanne Goldman, Hugh Barr, Della Freeth, Marilyn Hammick, Ivan Koppel	Issue 4, 2007
Glucosamine therapy for treating osteoarthritis.	Tanveer Towheed, Lara Maxwell, Tassos P Anastassiades, Beverley Shea, JB Houpt, Vivian Welch, Marc C Hochberg, George A Wells	Issue 1, 2005
Screening for breast cancer with mammography.	Peter C Gøtzsche, Margrethe Nielsen	Issue 3, 2006
Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections.	Ruth G Jepson, Jonathan C Craig	Issue 1, 2004
Immersion in water in labour and birth.	Elizabeth R Cluett, Ethel Burns	Issue 1, 2004
Sucrose for analgesia in newborn infants undergoing painful procedures.	Bonnie Stevens, Janet Yamada, Arne Ohlsson	Issue 2, 2004
Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation.	Lindsay F Stead, Rafael Perera, Chris Bullen, David Mant, Tim Lancaster	Issue 2, 2004