Development of START-EDI guidelines for reporting equality, diversity and inclusion in research: a study protocol
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Introduction: Acknowledging equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research is not only a moral imperative but also an important step in avoiding bias and ensuring generalisability of results. This protocol describes the development of STAndards for ReporTing EDI (START-EDI) in research, which will provide a set of minimum standards to help researchers improve their consistency, completeness and transparency in EDI reporting. We anticipate that these guidelines will benefit authors, reviewers, editors, funding organisations, patients and the public and healthcare providers.
Methods and analysis: To create START-EDI reporting guidelines, the following five stages are proposed: (i) establish a diverse, multidisciplinary Steering Committee that will lead and coordinate guideline development; (ii) a systematic review to identify the essential principles and methodological approaches for EDI to generate preliminary checklist items; (iii) conduct an international Delphi process to reach a consensus on the checklist items; (iv) finalise the reporting guidelines and create a separate Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document, and; (v) broad dissemination and implementation of START-EDI guidelines. We will work with patient and public involvement representatives and under-served groups in research throughout the project stages.
Ethics and dissemination: The study has received ethical approval from the Imperial College London Research Ethics Committee (study ID: 7592283). Informed consent and conflict of interest forms will be obtained from all participants in the Delphi process. The reporting guidelines will be published in open access peer-reviewed publications and presented in international conferences, and disseminated through community networks and forums.
Registration details: The project is pre-registered within the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8udbq/) and the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network.
Methods and analysis: To create START-EDI reporting guidelines, the following five stages are proposed: (i) establish a diverse, multidisciplinary Steering Committee that will lead and coordinate guideline development; (ii) a systematic review to identify the essential principles and methodological approaches for EDI to generate preliminary checklist items; (iii) conduct an international Delphi process to reach a consensus on the checklist items; (iv) finalise the reporting guidelines and create a separate Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document, and; (v) broad dissemination and implementation of START-EDI guidelines. We will work with patient and public involvement representatives and under-served groups in research throughout the project stages.
Ethics and dissemination: The study has received ethical approval from the Imperial College London Research Ethics Committee (study ID: 7592283). Informed consent and conflict of interest forms will be obtained from all participants in the Delphi process. The reporting guidelines will be published in open access peer-reviewed publications and presented in international conferences, and disseminated through community networks and forums.
Registration details: The project is pre-registered within the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/8udbq/) and the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network.
Date Issued
2025-07-01
Date Acceptance
2025-06-25
Citation
BMJ Open, 2025, 15 (7)
ISSN
2044-6055
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
BMJ Open
Volume
15
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1136/bmjopen-2024-095778
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e095778
Date Publish Online
2025-07-16