Evidence Based Social Science in China Paper 3: The quality of social science RCTs published from 2000-2020

Xiuxia Li; Yanfei Li; Kangle Guo; Nan Chen; Xudong Cui; Zhenggang Bai; Yaolong Chen; Kehu Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.09.014

Evidence Based Social Science in China Paper 3: The quality of social science RCTs published from 2000-2020

J Clin Epidemiol. 2022 Jan:141:64-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.09.014. Epub 2021 Sep 11.

Authors

Xiuxia Li¹, Yanfei Li¹, Kangle Guo¹, Nan Chen¹, Xudong Cui², Zhenggang Bai³, Yaolong Chen⁴, Kehu Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Evidence Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; WHO Collaborating Centre for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.
² Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
³ Evidence-Based Research Center of Social Science and Health, Public Affair School, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Evidence Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; WHO Collaborating Centre for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China. Electronic address: chenyaolong@lzu.edu.cn.
⁵ Evidence Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; WHO Collaborating Centre for Guideline Implementation and Knowledge Translation, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China. Electronic address: yangkh-ebm@lzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 34520849
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.09.014

Abstract

Objective: This study collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the social sciences in China and assessed their risk of bias and reporting quality.

Study design and setting: Three databases were systematically searched for publications from January 2000 to June 2020 for RCTs in the social sciences published by Chinese researchers. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool, and reporting quality was assessed using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials for Social and Psychological Interventions (CONSORT-SPI).

Results: A total of 316 RCTs were identified, including 204 articles in English and 112 articles in Chinese. The most frequently researched interventions focused on education (33.9%), and the most frequently studied population were students (32.9%). Eighty-seven percent of RCTs had intermediate reporting quality. Twenty-four of the 43 CONSORT-SPI sub-items had a compliance rate of less than 50%. Most RCTs had an unclear risk of bias for blinding outcome assessors (84.5%), blinding participants and personnel (82.9%), allocation concealment (73.1%), and random sequence generation (68.0%). A low proportion of CONSORT-SPI items were reported and, high proportion of the papers had unclear risk of bias.

Conclusion: The quality and reporting of RCTs in the social sciences needs improvement in China, especially for reporting methods and results. Most studies had an unclear risk of bias as they lacked important methodological information.

Keywords: Randomized controlled trial; Reporting quality; Risk of bias; Social science.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bias
China
Data Management*
Humans
Publications*
Social Sciences