Announcing the LATITUDES Network

We are delighted to announce the LATITUDES Network, a parallel resource to the EQUATOR Network providing a free online one-stop-shop to access validity assessment tools (“risk of bias” tools) for different study designs.

The complementary names is no co-incidence, and reflects the joint aims to improve the quality of healthcare research. The EQUATOR Network targets improvement in accurate, complete, and transparent reporting of health research studies and The LATITUDES Network targets improving the robustness of evidence synthesis by improving the process of risk of bias/validity assessment.

The LATITUDES Network includes a library of validity assessment tools, designed for use in evidence syntheses. The website also provides links to training resources for validity assessment and individual tools.

The LATITUDES Network was launched at the Cochrane Colloquium 2023 in London, with the aim of benefiting the wider research synthesis community.

Please share the website (https://www.latitudes-network.org/) with your colleagues and students.

“I’m excited that the LATITUDES Network is now online, free for everyone to use. At EQUATOR we receive frequent queries for assistance with “risk of bias” assessment for systematic reviews. Now we have an excellent resource in The LATITUDES Network to refer users to. Congratulations to the team at LATITUDES on their successful launch” Gary Collins, Director UK EQUATOR Centre