6a. Outcome Measures
What to write
Clearly define all outcome measures assessed (e.g., cell death, molecular markers, or behavioural changes).
Explanation
An outcome measure (also known as a dependent variable or a response variable) is any variable recorded during a study (e.g., volume of damaged tissue, number of dead cells, specific molecular marker) to assess the effects of a treatment or experimental intervention. Outcome measures may be important for characterising a sample (e.g., baseline data) or for describing complex responses (e.g., ‘haemodynamic’ outcome measures including heart rate, blood pressure, central venous pressure, and cardiac output). Failure to disclose all the outcomes that were measured introduces bias in the literature, as positive outcomes (e.g., those statistically significant) are reported more often1–4.
Explicitly describe what was measured, especially when measures can be operationalised in different ways. For example, activity could be recorded as time spent moving or distance travelled. When possible, the recording of outcome measures should be made in an unbiased manner (e.g., blinded to the treatment allocation of each experimental group; see Item 5. Blinding). Specify how the outcome measure(s) assessed are relevant to the objectives of the study.
Example
‘The following parameters were assessed: threshold pressure (TP; intravesical pressure immediately before micturition); post-void pressure (PVP; intravesical pressure immediately after micturition); peak pressure (PP; highest intravesical pressure during micturition); capacity (CP; volume of saline needed to induce the first micturition); compliance (CO; CP to TP ratio); frequency of voiding contractions (VC) and frequency of non-voiding contractions (NVCs)’5.
Training
The UK EQUATOR Centre runs training on how to write using reporting guidelines.
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