Raising the bar for causal inference: PLOS Medicine adopts the TARGET guidelines for target trial emulation studies

The TARGET guidelines aim to improve transparency and consistency in reporting of observational studies that emulate target trials. In alignment with these goals, PLOS Medicine fully endorses the TARGET guidelines and now asks that new submissions of target trial emulation studies adhere to them.

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Veröffentlicht in:PLoS medicine Jg. 22; H. 10; S. e1004796
1. Verfasser: Lumbard, Helen
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: United States Public Library of Science 31.10.2025
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Abstract The TARGET guidelines aim to improve transparency and consistency in reporting of observational studies that emulate target trials. In alignment with these goals, PLOS Medicine fully endorses the TARGET guidelines and now asks that new submissions of target trial emulation studies adhere to them.
AbstractList The TARGET guidelines aim to improve transparency and consistency in reporting of observational studies that emulate target trials. In alignment with these goals, PLOS Medicine fully endorses the TARGET guidelines and now asks that new submissions of target trial emulation studies adhere to them.
The TARGET guidelines aim to improve transparency and consistency in reporting of observational studies that emulate target trials. In alignment with these goals, PLOS Medicine fully endorses the TARGET guidelines and now asks that new submissions of target trial emulation studies adhere to them.The TARGET guidelines aim to improve transparency and consistency in reporting of observational studies that emulate target trials. In alignment with these goals, PLOS Medicine fully endorses the TARGET guidelines and now asks that new submissions of target trial emulation studies adhere to them.
Audience Academic
Author Lumbard, Helen
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Cites_doi 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.36023
10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074626
10.1371/journal.pmed.1004787
10.1001/jama.2025.13350
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Copyright Copyright: © 2025 Helen Lumbard. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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References HJ Hansford (pmed.1004796.ref001) 2023; 6
AG Cashin (pmed.1004796.ref003) 2025; 334
HJ Hansford (pmed.1004796.ref004) 2025; 22
HJ Hansford (pmed.1004796.ref002) 2023; 13
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  article-title: Development of the TrAnsparent ReportinG of observational studies Emulating a Target trial (TARGET) guideline
  publication-title: BMJ Open
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– volume: 22
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  article-title: Improving reporting of observational studies of interventions: the TARGET guideline
  publication-title: PLoS Med
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  article-title: Transparent reporting of observational studies emulating a target trial-the TARGET statement
  publication-title: JAMA
  doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.13350
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SubjectTerms Analysis
Causality
Clinical Trials as Topic - standards
Epidemiology
Guidelines as Topic
Humans
Observational Studies as Topic - standards
Research Design - standards
Title Raising the bar for causal inference: PLOS Medicine adopts the TARGET guidelines for target trial emulation studies
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