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RevMan 5 Rollout FAQ

Introduction

This FAQ has been developed in response to questions from Review Group Co-ordinators about the release of RevMan 5. The intended audience is therefore staff at CRG editorial bases. Further questions will be added and existing ones updated as necessary. If you have an important question that is not currently included in this FAQ, please contact your IMS Support person (see http://www.cc-ims.net/Projects/newIMS/Training/IMS_Support).

Contents

Rollout

  1. What is the Collaboration’s rollout and implementation strategy?
    Answer : A document describing the rollout and implementation strategy is available at http://www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/. This website also provides a general description of the new functionality in RevMan 5 and information about becoming a formal beta tester.
  2. Could RevMan 5 be rolled out in stages; for example, to new authors first, then current Contact authors, etc?
    Answer : This is one of several suggestions considered when drafting the strategy for rolling out RevMan 5 – see the above-mentioned document at http://www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/.
    In brief, all authors will be allowed to use RevMan 5 from the official release date forward, but we envisage that many established authors will make the transition to RevMan 5 only when this becomes necessary in the course of the progress of their own reviews – that is, as their reviews pass through the CRG editorial process – or (at the very latest) at the end of the conversion period.
  3. When will RevMan 5 be available to authors?
    Answer : When RevMan 5 goes on general release in 2008, following beta testing and the RevMan 5 pilot. The date of release has still to be confirmed.
  4. What is involved in the RevMan 5 pilot?
    Answer:See www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/revman-5-pilot.
  5. How and when should we tell our authors about RevMan 5?
    Answer : The Cochrane Collaboration Steering Group (CCSG) will write to all authors of Cochrane reviews with an email address in Archie to inform them of the date by which all CRG editorial offices will begin using RevMan 5 to process reviews, and the implications this will have for them and their review teams. This letter will also be available as a PDF file on the Collaboration’s website so that RGCs can send the PDF, the link to the letter, or both to their authors when they acknowledge receipt of authors’ RevMan 4 drafts after RevMan 5 goes on general release.
  6. Can RevMan 5 be released to RGCs before authors?
    Answer : The RevMan 5 Release Candidate (the version with potential to be the final product) will be available to RGCs before RevMan 5 goes on general release so that RGCs become familiar with RevMan 5.0 before their authors begin to use it. RGCs are also encouraged to sign up to beta test RevMan 5. To sign up to be a RevMan 5 beta tester, send an email to revman5beta@cochrane.dk.
    Note: the RevMan 5 Release Candidate will also be available to any author who has signed up to be a RevMan 5 beta tester but they will not be able to use this for submission of protocols or reviews for publication unless this is with one of the pilot RGCs.

Access and Distribution

  1. How do I get access to the RevMan 5 beta version?
    Answer : Go to http://www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/.
  2. How will an author get RevMan 5 after its official release?
    Answer : RevMan 5 will be available for download via the Internet. Three versions will be available: Windows, Mac and Linux. Each of these can be downloaded as a single file (approximately 15 MB for Windows, 4 MB for Mac and 21.5 MB for Linux). The Windows version is relatively large because it needs to include Java (which is standard on Macintosh computers). RevMan will also be available as an ‘ISO image’ for CD-ROM (see Q10).
  3. How can an author get RevMan 5 on a CD?
    Answer : There will be no central stock of RevMan 5 on CDs, but authors without access to the Internet will be able to request a CD containing RevMan 5 through the editorial base of their Cochrane Review Group or from their reference Cochrane Centre (see next question and response).
  4. How can an editorial base or Cochrane Centre get a copy of RevMan 5 on CD?
    Answer : Editorial bases and Cochrane Centres who are asked by an author for RevMan 5 on a CD will be able to download ‘ISO image’ files from the Internet and copy these onto a CD, which can then be posted to the author. Detailed instructions on how to obtain and use the necessary files will be provided after the official release of RevMan 5. Editorial bases that do not have access to a CD writer should contact the Cochrane Centre nearest to the author who requested a CD or the RevMan team for help.
  5. Is GRADEprofiler, which can be used to help prepare Summary of Findings tables, included in RevMan 5?
    Answer : No, GRADEprofiler will not be in the installation file for RevMan 5. It needs to be downloaded separately. It will be included in the ISO image files for CDs.

Training

  1. What general training and support in RevMan 5 will be provided for RGCs?
    Answer : Your IMS Support person will provide general training and technical support in the use of RevMan 5 and in converting reviews from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5.
  2. What training will RGCs receive in the use of the new types of reviews (Diagnostic Test reviews and Overviews of reviews), statistical options, Risk of Bias and Summary of Findings tables, and other new features incorporated into RevMan 5?
    Answer : RevMan 5 technical support and support in converting reviews from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5 will be provided by IMS Support. All new features (for example, revised heading structure and new terminology for substantive updates, as well as details about the new types of reviews and tables) will be detailed in a substantial update to the Cochrane Handbook. In addition, there will be a two-page document to summarise ‘what you need to know’.
    The Statistical Methods Group (SMG) will offer training on the new tables, reviews and methodology for those within the CRG who have responsibility for these issues. There will be several of these training workshops at the Colloquium in São Pa ulo in October 2007. PowerPoint slides for the Risk Of Bias tables and the new statistical methods for intervention reviews will be made available to Cochrane Centres after the Colloquium for use at their future training workshops. The slides will also be sent to the Australasian Cochrane Centre, who are co-ordinating the dissemination of training resources, so that they can be made available on-line for others to access.
    • Diagnostic Test reviews
      For Diagnostic Test reviews, the development and initial delivery of training programs are the responsibility of the UK and mainland Europe regional support groups. The former is based with Jon Deeks in Birmingham, and the latter in Amsterdam at the Dutch Cochrane Centre. Details can be found at: http://srdta.cochrane.org. Tess Moore was appointed in September 2007 to work with CRGs to manage the editorial arrangements for these reviews.
    • Overviews of reviews
      CRGs who are interested in preparing Overviews of reviews should contact Lorne Becker (see Archie for contact details) first to discuss how to prepare such reviews. Lorne Becker is the co-ordinator of the Overviews of Reviews Working Group.
    • CRG Statistician or Statistical Editor
      If RGCs have queries about the new tables, reviews and methodological features in RevMan 5, they should contact their CRG’s Statistician or Statistical Editor. Each CRG should have a statistician who is a member of the Statistical Methods Group (SMG) and on the SMG email list, and who should therefore be aware of the new RevMan 5 reviews and tables. A CRG’s statistician should therefore be the first point of contact for queries from RGCs that cannot be addressed by consulting the Cochrane Handbook. If the CRG’s statistician is unable to answer the RGC’s queries, the query can be sent to the CRG’s Cochrane Centre who, if necessary, can contact the appropriate Methods Group for advice.
  3. Will Co-ordinating Editors be trained in the use of RevMan 5 and Archie?
    Answer : Co-ordinating Editors wishing to receive general training in the use of RevMan can contact their IMS Support person. In addition, they can also participate in RevMan 5 related workshops organised by Centres and Methods Groups. A Convenor of the SMG will also attend the Co-ordinating Editors’ meeting at the Colloquium in October 2007.
  4. Who will train authors in the use of RevMan 5?
    Answer : Cochrane Centres have responsibility for training review authors. A list of the references Centre for all countries of the world is available at www.cochrane.org/contact/entities.htm#CENTRES.
  5. In what formats will training be offered to authors?
    Answer : Distance learning (including a self-paced RevMan 5 tutorial) and RevMan 5 workshops offered by Cochrane Centres.
  6. Will there be a RevMan 5 training timetable for authors worldwide, similar to the 12-month timetable of workshops for authors run annually by the UK Cochrane Centre?
    Answer : There will be a timetable with the 2008 dates of all RevMan 5 workshops published on www.cochrane.org. This will include workshops held during Cochrane Contributors’ meetings as well as standalone training events.

Ongoing support for authors

  1. Will any ‘How-to-do’ manuals be available for authors?
    Answer : Yes. There will be a RevMan 5 User Guide, a substantially updated Cochrane Handbook and a self-pace RevMan 5 tutorial.
  2. Who will support authors in the use of RevMan 5?
    Answer : CRGs will continue to provide the support they have always given their authors in the use of RevMan. However, they will also be able to contact the author’s reference Cochrane Centre for assistance.

Converting reviews from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5

  1. Who is responsible for the conversion of a CRG’s reviews from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5?
    Answer : During the transition period, the CRG will be responsible for converting as many of their CRG’s reviews as possible. At the end of the conversion period, reviews that have not been converted during the transition period will be converted centrally. This conversion will take place immediately after the November 2008 quarterly module submission deadline.
  2. Do reviews have to be converted individually?
    Answer : Yes
  3. What is involved, from the point of view of a CRG editorial base, in the conversion of an individual review from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5?
    Answer : A checklist is being developed to detail what should be checked before the RGC releases a RevMan 5 review for publication and what can be left until the author is working on the update of their review. The list of essential checks will be short.
  4. Who will support authors in the conversion of their reviews from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5?
    Answer : The CRG will support the conversion of reviews submitted for editorial processing. For published reviews, there will be central help – see http://www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/.
  5. What will be done centrally to help with the conversion?
    Answer : Central help with conversion may take place during the transition period as agreed with individual CRGs. Conversion of the remaining RevMan 4 reviews will be done centrally immediately after the November 2008 quarterly module submission deadline.
  6. Who will be responsible for the checking of the reviews converted from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5?
    Answer : It depends on when and by whom the review is converted. If the review is converted during the editorial processing of a new draft, or an amended review submitted by authors during the transition period, the checking will be the responsibility of both the authors and the editorial base, as part of the CRG’s usual editorial processing of drafts. Reviews converted centrally either during or after the transition period will not need to be checked by the authors or CRGs unless the person doing the central conversion has queries. In such cases, the RGC will be asked to check the conversion. Authors will be informed when the CRGs’ reviews have been converted in case they wish to check the conversion of their reviews in Archie.
  7. When do the new tables in RevMan 5 (Summary of Findings, Risk of Bias) have to be completed?
    Answer : It is not expected that the new tables will be produced at the time of conversion. The new tables should be completed for reviews that have protocols submitted for editorial processing after the CRG’s initial adoption of RevMan 5. However, it is strongly encouraged that the new tables be completed for new and updated reviews submitted for editorial processing following the conversion period.
  8. Which field does the RevMan 4 substantive updated field feed into in RevMan 5?
    Answer : During the conversion to RevMan 5, the date of last substantive update in RevMan 4 will become a History date in RevMan 5 with the Event described as “New citation: conclusions changed” and the Description given as “Substantive amendment”. The What’s new section in RevMan 5 will give the date on which the review was converted to RevMan 5 with the Event “Amended” and the Description “Converted to a new review format”.
  9. What will happen to the information in the What’s new section of the RevMan 4 file when the review is converted to RevMan 5?
    Answer : The information from the What’s new section in RevMan 4 will be copied to unpublished notes fields (yellow sticky notes) for the Dates section and the What’s new section. Authors or the editorial base can create history events in RevMan 5 based on this information manually, if they wish to do so. If not, users of The Cochrane Library interested in this information can consult previously published versions in the archive of The Cochrane Library.
  10. Will it be possible to revert a review to RevMan 4 after it has been edited in RevMan 5?
    Answer : No.
  11. If a Contact author uses RevMan 5, must the Co-authors also use RevMan 5?
    Answer : Yes.
  12. When do all protocols and reviews have to be converted to RevMan 5?
    Answer : Within nine months (i.e., three module submissions to TheCochrane Library) following the general release of RevMan 5 – see http://www.cc-ims.net/RevMan/RevMan5/.

RevMan 5 reviews and The Cochrane Library

  1. What will a RevMan 5 review look like when it is published in The Cochrane Library?
    Answer : The IMS team and the Publishing Policy Group are working with Wiley-Blackwell to prepare mock-ups. (Once available, a link to these versions will be available here.)
  2. What are the implications of the move from RevMan 4 to RevMan 5 for The Cochrane Library users?
    Answer : The Publishing Policy Group has been working with Wiley-Blackwell and the IMS team to redesign both the web based (Wiley InterScience) and CD versions of The Cochrane Library to give users access to all of the innovations available in RevMan 5. Thus, users will have access to new features (such as Risk of Bias tables and Summary of Findings tables) and to new types of reviews (such as Diagnostic Test reviews and Overviews of reviews) when reading reviews that have been authored in RevMan 5. During the transition period, both RevMan 4 and RevMan 5 reviews will be published alongside each other. Users may find this confusing but it is unavoidable if there is to be a phased introduction of RevMan 5.

Other

  1. Will authors be able to create new reviews in RevMan 5 and, if so, will they be able to check them into Archie?
    Answer : Cochrane reviews must start their life in Archie with the registration of a title. Authors can check the title out of Archie in order to develop their protocol. Authors will be able to create new reviews in RevMan 5 (for example, for demonstration purposes or standalone analyses) but will not be able to check them in to Archie. Authors would need to contact their editorial base about this.
  2. Will it be possible to check a batch of reviews into Archie from RevMan 5 in a single step?
    Answer : No.

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