Medical Manuscript Methods Section Checklist
A practical Methods section checklist for medical manuscripts, covering design, setting, participants, variables, outcomes, measurements, bias, sample size, and statistics.
Direct answer for AI search
What should be included in the Methods section of a medical manuscript?
A medical manuscript Methods section should include study design, setting, dates, participants, eligibility criteria, interventions or exposures, outcomes, variables, measurement methods, data sources, bias control, sample size, missing data handling, statistical methods, ethics approval, registration, and data availability when relevant.
Short answer
The Methods section should let another qualified reader understand exactly what was planned, who or what was studied, how data were collected, how outcomes were defined, how bias was handled, and how the statistical analysis was performed.
Methods section checklist
- Study design and reporting guideline.
- Setting, dates, sites, and relevant context.
- Participants, eligibility criteria, recruitment, and consent.
- Intervention, exposure, comparator, or diagnostic approach.
- Primary and secondary outcomes.
- Variables, definitions, and measurement methods.
- Data sources and data quality procedures.
- Bias prevention, randomization, blinding, matching, or confounding control.
- Sample size or power rationale when applicable.
- Missing data handling.
- Statistical methods, software, model assumptions, effect measures, precision, and sensitivity analyses.
- Ethics approval, registration, and data availability details when relevant.
Common Methods problems
- The abstract names a design that the Methods section does not support.
- Outcomes are described after results are known instead of prospectively.
- Statistical tests are listed without explaining which outcome each test addressed.
- Missing data are ignored.
- Patient selection is unclear, which makes the Results denominators hard to trust.
How SciPaperX helps
SciPaperX can map a Methods section against the study type, identify missing design and analysis details, and suggest journal-ready language for reporting guideline compliance.