PLoS Clinical Trials Journal

Launched in May 2006, this is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal published online by the Public Library of Science (PLoS). The journal welcomes articles from around the globe reporting results of randomised trials in all fields of healthcare, irrespective of their outcome.

The journal is committed to a transparent trials reporting system of all randomised trials that are ethically and scientifically sound, registered, and reported accurately. By considering all such trials for publication irrespective of the outcome of the results, the journal aims to increase the accuracy and completeness of the evidence available for clinical decision-making by practitioners, policymakers, and patients. All trials considered for publication are rigorously peer-reviewed by expert statisticians and clinicians.

As an online journal, PLoS Clinical Trials aims to take advantage of the unlimited space and interactivity the web provides. Each published trial is linked to its corresponding entry in a public registry and supplementary data, such as original trial protocols, are linked to each report enabling readers to evaluate the trial more thoroughly. A short commentary on each paper summarises for a general audience how the trial results add to the evidence.

Open access means that the full contents of PLoS Clinical Trials are available to anyone to read and re-use for free, not only to researchers and practitioners but also to patients and trial participants.