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An author recently wrote to European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy (EJHP) asking if we would consider publishing a protocol for a research project. This was something we had not considered and caused some debate among the editorial board. Among concerns was the viewpoint that protocols only signpost the research about to be undertaken and do not contain any results, so why publish them?
Over recent years, study protocols have become mainstream and some would consider an essential part of healthcare research. This has led to a number of important trial databases including ClinicalTrials.gov and a WHO database.1 Protocols lay out the researchers’ plan in a publication that enables comparison with the later to be published results. This plan should …
Correspondence to Professor Phil Wiffen, Pain Research Unit, Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LE, UK; phil.wiffen{at}ndcn.ox.ac.uk