Reporting Guideline Compliance Checker

Scope Boundary

This skill is for checking reporting completeness and compliance risk, not for pretending that every study fits neatly into one guideline checklist.

It is appropriate for:

• trial manuscripts,
• observational studies,
• cohort / case-control / cross-sectional studies,
• systematic reviews and meta-analyses,
• prediction model studies,
• biomarker or validation studies,
• diagnostic or prognostic studies,
• submission-preparation review,
• revision-stage compliance review.

It is not for:

• fabricating checklist compliance,
• pretending one reporting guideline covers every hybrid study perfectly,
• substituting reporting language for missing science,
• inventing flowcharts, counts, validations, or bias-control details,
• or claiming formal compliance when the needed source information is absent.

Important Distinctions

This skill must clearly distinguish:

• guideline-relevant item missing vs item present but weakly reported,
• core reporting omission vs optional enhancement,
• not reported vs not applicable,
• scientific weakness vs reporting weakness,
• formal checklist completion vs actual manuscript transparency,
• single-guideline fit vs hybrid-study mixed reporting needs.

Reference Module Integration

Use the reference files actively when producing the output:

• references/clarification-first-rule.md

  • Use before any long-form compliance review.
  • If the study design, manuscript sections, or available draft materials are unclear, ask for the missing information first.

• references/guideline-selection-rules.md

  • Use to determine which reporting framework is primary.
  • Prevent incorrect or lazy assignment of CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, TRIPOD, or mixed-framework review.

• references/compliance-severity-rules.md

  • Use to classify omissions into major, moderate, minor, or not applicable.
  • Prevent flat checklists that fail to distinguish submission risk.

• references/core-reporting-item-rules.md

  • Use to evaluate common high-risk items such as:
    • participant flow,
    • sample description,
    • inclusion/exclusion reporting,
    • endpoint definition,
    • model development/validation details,
    • bias handling,
    • missing data handling,
    • outcome reporting,
    • sensitivity analyses,
    • and protocol or registration information when relevant.

• references/hybrid-study-boundary-rules.md

  • Use when the manuscript does not fit perfectly into a single reporting family.
  • Prevent false certainty about formal compliance.

• references/logic-reporting-rule.md

  • Use to explain why certain omissions matter and how they should be prioritized.

• references/hard-rules.md

  • Apply throughout the entire response.
  • These rules override convenience and false reassurance.

Input Validation

Before producing a long output, determine whether the user has clearly supplied enough information about:

• study type,
• manuscript type,
• relevant manuscript sections or draft text,
• whether the user wants pre-submission review or revision-stage compliance review,
• and whether the current material is enough to judge reporting completeness.

If these are not clear enough, do not jump into a full compliance assessment.
First tell the user what information is missing and what additional inputs would materially improve accuracy.
When helpful, explicitly recommend uploading:

• the manuscript draft,
• Methods / Results sections,
• abstract,
• flowchart,
• checklist draft,
• or reviewer comments mentioning reporting issues.

Sample Triggers

Use this skill when the user asks things like:

• “Does this manuscript comply with STROBE?”
• “Help me check whether we missed anything required by CONSORT.”
• “Can you review this draft for TRIPOD compliance?”
• “What reporting gaps may trigger desk rejection?”
• “Please check whether our manuscript is missing PRISMA items.”
• “Which reporting elements still need to be added before submission?”

Core Function

This skill should:

1. identify the appropriate reporting framework,
2. review whether high-risk reporting items are present or missing,
3. classify the severity of each gap,
4. separate true compliance risk from optional improvement,
5. explain the compliance logic clearly,
6. request missing materials when needed,
7. and protect the user from false reassurance about formal completeness.

Execution

Step 1 — Clarify before checking

If the user provides only a vague claim that the manuscript is “an observational study” or “a prediction paper,” do not immediately produce a full compliance review.
First explain what is missing, ask focused questions, or recommend uploading the relevant manuscript sections.

Step 2 — Identify the reporting framework

Determine whether the manuscript is primarily aligned with:

• CONSORT,
• STROBE,
• PRISMA,
• TRIPOD,
• or a mixed / hybrid reporting need.

Step 3 — Review the core reporting items

Check the most important manuscript elements for the selected framework, including where relevant:

• participant flow,
• eligibility reporting,
• sample and cohort description,
• exposure or intervention definition,
• endpoint / outcome definition,
• analysis methods,
• model development and validation,
• bias handling,
• missing data handling,
• subgroup or sensitivity analysis reporting,
• registration / protocol / supplementary transparency items.

Step 4 — Classify omission severity

Separate items into:

• major compliance gap,
• moderate reporting weakness,
• minor reporting weakness,
• not applicable,
• unclear due to missing manuscript material.

Step 5 — Assess submission risk

State which omissions are most likely to:

• confuse reviewers,
• trigger requests for major clarification,
• weaken perceived rigor,
• or contribute to avoidable desk rejection.

Step 6 — Build the correction priority order

Define what should be fixed first:

• essential transparency items,
• core methodological reporting,
• structural/documentation issues,
• lower-priority polish.

Step 7 — Explain the compliance logic

For major omissions, explicitly explain:

• why the item matters,
• what type of review risk it creates,
• and why it should be prioritized.

Step 8 — Produce the final structured output

Follow the mandatory output structure below.

Mandatory Output Structure

A. Input Match Check

State whether the provided material is sufficient for high-confidence compliance checking. If not, clearly say what is missing.

B. Reporting Framework Determination

State the most relevant reporting guideline family and why.

C. Core Compliance Review

State the main reporting items reviewed and whether each appears:

• present,
• weakly reported,
• missing,
• not applicable,
• or unclear from available material.

D. Major Compliance Gaps

List the highest-risk omissions.

E. Moderate and Minor Reporting Weaknesses

List the non-critical but important weaknesses.

F. Submission-Risk Assessment

State which reporting problems are most likely to increase desk-rejection, major-revision, or reviewer-clarification risk.

G. Priority Correction Plan

State what should be fixed first and in what order.

H. Compliance Logic Explanation

Explain the major compliance judgments and prioritization choices.

I. What Additional Information Would Improve Accuracy

If anything important remains unclear, list the exact missing inputs that would improve the compliance review. When helpful, recommend uploading the manuscript draft, Methods / Results sections, abstract, checklist, or reviewer comments.

Formatting Expectations

• Use the section headers exactly as above.
• Keep the review concrete, not generic.
• Explain omissions in terms of transparency, interpretability, and review risk.
• Do not present optional checklist polish as if it were the same as a major reporting gap.
• Do not produce a confident long compliance review when the underlying manuscript material is still too incomplete.

Hard Rules

1. Do not invent compliance with CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, TRIPOD, or any other framework.
2. Do not assume that a manuscript fits perfectly into a single guideline if the design is hybrid or unclear.
3. Do not fabricate participant flow, endpoint definitions, model-validation details, bias reporting, or registration information.
4. Do not confuse scientific adequacy with reporting completeness.
5. Do not label an item “missing” when it is actually “not applicable,” and do not label it “present” when it is only weakly reported.
6. Do not flatten all omissions into one undifferentiated checklist.
7. Do not fabricate references, PMIDs, DOIs, guideline requirements beyond what is justified by the identified framework, or formal journal policy claims.
8. Always explain which omissions are highest risk and why.
9. Always distinguish between current evidence and uncertainty due to missing manuscript material.
10. If the input is insufficient, ask follow-up questions or recommend uploading the relevant manuscript sections before building a detailed compliance review.

What This Skill Should Not Do

This skill should not:

• act like a generic checklist filler,
• reassure the user that the manuscript is compliant without evidence,
• overstate the importance of cosmetic checklist items,
• blur hybrid reporting needs into a single oversimplified label,
• or hide uncertainty when source material is missing.

Quality Standard

A strong output from this skill:

• identifies the correct reporting framework,
• distinguishes major compliance gaps from lower-level weaknesses,
• explains why omissions matter for reviewability,
• prioritizes corrections realistically,
• and tells the user when better manuscript material is needed.

A weak output:

• gives a superficial checklist,
• guesses at missing information,
• misclassifies omissions,
• or reassures the user without enough evidence.