Hello and welcome to our final newsletter of the year, designed to keep you up to date with news and information from PaPaS.
We hope this newsletter will be of interest to you as an author, editor, peer reviewer or someone who is keen to learn more about the work of the Cochrane PaPaS Group. You can easily unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of this page should you wish to.
Please note the PaPaS office will be closed 21 December to 1 January inclusive.
PaPaS News
A few words from PaPaS Co-ordinating Editor Neil O'Connell
So this has clearly been an odd year for everyone but it has also been a real year of change for PaPaS. Even without the small matter of a global pandemic we would have been managing both a change of home and a change of leadership!
Despite events I think we can reflect on another year of success for PaPaS. We have published some very important new reviews, updates and protocols, have supported the MOSS Network with some of Cochrane's most challenging projects, have made great strides towards priority setting and have some exciting new projects and directions in the offing.
That we have been able to do that is so much down to the core team of Anna Erskine, Kerry Harding and Joanne Abbott, who have been fantastic in keeping the ship sailing whilst balancing everything else. So my huge thanks to them. Thanks also to our fantastic editorial board and broader family for engaging whenever we have asked you to and bringing your wisdom and enthusiasm, and to all our authors for your fantastic work.
Finally I know I speak for all of us when I say a special thank you indeed to Chris Eccleston who has recently stepped down after a full 10 years in the Co-ordinating Editor role. Chris’ contribution to where we find ourselves now is immeasurable and I am very grateful for that and personally for the support he has given me in trying to step into his shoes.
With the prospect of COVID vaccines now in the mix and a new home for us in Oxford I am looking forward to 2021 with real optimism. PaPaS is in great health thanks to you all. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A few words from PaPaS Managing Editor Anna Erskine
As we approach the end of 2020, I want to extend my thanks to everyone who has continued to contribute to PaPaS throughout this exceptionally challenging and unusual year. I am grateful to all our authors, peer reviewers, and editors for their hard work in completing tasks despite difficult circumstances. In particular, I want to thank Chris, Neil, Kerry and Jo for their dedication and commitment to keeping the PaPaS wheels turning. I think I actually feel more connected than ever, both to my core team members, and the PaPaS and Cochrane communities, as the opportunities for meeting online have increased massively. I am looking forward to the year ahead, in particular our priority setting and consumer involvement projects, as well as the roll-out of our new Editorial Management System – watch this space for updates on all of these, and our other activities and opportunities.
I hope you all have a much-deserved rest over the holiday period and enjoy some screen-free time. We look forward to working with you next year and beyond.
Season’s greetings,
Anna
Top 10 cited reviews
See here to find out which reviews made it into the top 10 cited reviews!
Top 10 accessed reviews
See here to find out which reviews made it into the top 10 accessed reviews!
Congratulations to everyone involved.
Good news stories from PaPaS in 2020
We posted on our website about our Good News stories in January and March this year. We also welcomed Hopin Lee to the Editorial Board and Neil O'Connell as PaPaS new Co-ordinating Editor, as well as an increase in our equivalent Impact Factor.
To keep up to date with all of our latest News, see our webpage here.
PaPaS Editors' meeting
We recently held our annual Editors' meeting online. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend, it was great to see you, and we hope to be able to meet face to face in 2021.
Cochrane News
Cochrane's revised Conflicts of Interest Policy has been launched
There are a few important changes in the revised policy:
Authors without conflicts of interest must make up at least two-thirds of the author team.
Last as well as first authors must be entirely free of conflicts of interest.
Authors of clinical studies that are funded by industry and are relevant to the topic of a review may not be the first or last author of a Cochrane Review.
Non-financial interests must be closely considered and declared by all Cochrane authors, but will not prevent people from creating Cochrane Library content.
Virtually Cochrane, 20-22 April 2021: Navigating evidence and uncertainty
Save the date for 'Virtually Cochrane'.
In 2021, Cochrane UK are holding an online event ‘Virtually Cochrane’ for all those involved with, or interested in, planning, doing, sharing and using research evidence. See here.
Cochrane UK Consumer Champions
The Consumer Champions role will involve advocating for evidence-based health care and Cochrane amongst organisations and patient groups in the UK.
This report, compiled by the Methods Team in the Central Executive Team provides an overview of the key methodological developments in Cochrane over the past year. It's been a busy year, read the report here.
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