Our Methods Groups provide policy advice and focus on developing the methods used to produce Cochrane reviews. Over the past year they’ve been working hard on activities from writing papers on responsible AI use to identifying research priorities. We are putting a spotlight on each Group to share what they have been up to over the last year.

Take a look at the 15th Cochrane Methods report, providing an overview of the key methodological activities in Cochrane for 2025-2026

Cochrane is updating our expectations for how results data are managed in intervention reviews, making study centric data and automatic analyses the expected approach for all new reviews.

A new Cochrane review finds very low-quality evidence on lumbar supports for chronic low back pain, meaning that no strong recommendations can be made either for or against their use.

Nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective in helping people quit smoking than many conventional methods such as nicotine gums and patches and quitting with behavioural support or no support at all, an updated Cochrane review finds.

A new Cochrane evidence and gap map (EGM) has mapped the global research landscape on dengue prevention, finding plenty of research but not enough of it synthesized in ways policymakers can use.

We are pleased to welcome Adriani Nikolakopoulou to the Cochrane Methods Executive!

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A consortium of leading scientific and global public health organizations including Cochrane have issued a collective statement reaffirming the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccination, including the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and its individual components.

We're excited to announce that the 2027 Cochrane Colloquium will take place in Kyoto, Japan on 2-4 November 2027, with pre-conference meetings on 1 November.

Preparation techniques used before embryo transfer, considered the most critical step in the IVF process, show no proven effect on pregnancy rates and remain inconclusive due to limited or low-quality data, a new Cochrane review finds.

A new Cochrane review finds that exercise may improve pain and function, but the benefits may fall short of what patients would notice in daily life.

In an era defined by an abundance of information, and new ways to find it, Cochrane’s Chief Executive Officer, Karla Soares-Weiser argues that systematic reviews remain an essential tool to help individuals, healthcare professionals and policymakers make decisions. However, the challenge is no longer simply producing reliable evidence but maintaining the trust that makes Cochrane’s evidence useful.

Knowledge translation (KT) is a key part of ensuring that high-quality evidence reaches the people who can use it. In Italy, however, research methods and evidence-based medicine (EBM) are not consistently integrated into higher education or medical education programmes.

Cochrane has introduced word limits for our reviews, updates, and protocols, to help keep our evidence focused, concise, and more accessible for readers.

Today an international coalition of organizations dedicated to evidence-informed decision-making launched the World Evidence-based Healthcare Day 2026 campaign, ‘Evidence and AI: People at the Centre’.

Cochrane has started rolling out a refreshed toolkit of author training materials. The toolkit provides ready-to-use materials for trainers to deliver or adapt for their own face-to-face and online training.

Following a busy week at the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA), we’re reflecting on the inspiring conversations and high-level discussions Cochrane had the privilege of being involved in.

From searching and screening to drafting text, artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer the promise of increased efficiency. But with promise comes responsibility. Ella Flemyng, Cochrane’s Head of Editorial Policy and Research Integrity, highlights what you need to consider when deciding whether to use an AI tool, and when you might decide not to.

We are looking for a new author team to update a key review on over-the-counter medicines for acute cough. The Cochrane review incorporates evidence from 1966 up to 2012 and a new search for recently published evidence is necessary. Take a look at the requirements, the support we can offer and information on how to register your interest.