Cochrane’s Plain Language Summary Project: what have we learnt so far?

Making Cochrane evidence accessible and usable is a key aim of delivering Cochrane’s organisational mission, so communicating Cochrane evidence in plain language is becoming ever more important. Plain Language Summaries (PLSs) of Cochrane Reviews are included in every Cochrane Review, and form the basis of dissemination products, such as press releases and infographics.

The Plain Language Summary Project started in May 2020 to see whether a team of professional writers could improve the quality, consistency and translatability of Cochrane PLSs. This presentation outlined: 

  • how we set about it;
  • our experiences of writing PLSs and the challenges we faced;
  • how we evaluated the project, the conclusions we reached; and
  • the guidance we have produced thus far.

This session was recorded during the 'Virtually Cochrane' conference, hosted by Cochrane UK and Cochrane Ireland, 20-22nd April 2021.

Speakers

Carolyn Hughes

Plain Language Summary Writer, Cochrane


Read Carolyn's biography here

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Denise Mitchell

Plain Language Summary Writer, Cochrane


Read Denise's biography here

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.Nicole Pitcher

Plain Language Summary Writer, Cochrane


Read Nicole's biography here

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Elizabeth Royle

Copy-editing Manager, Cochrane


Read Elizabeth's biography here

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Toby Lasserson

Deputy Editor in Chief, Cochrane Library


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Moderator

Jo Anthony

Head of Knowledge Translation, Cochrane