Collection Pilot — instructions
StatMedAnalysis | Revised 6 November 2026

Open the matching CSV in a spreadsheet or text editor. Keep an untouched copy.
The first data row is a clearly labeled hypothetical example, not study data.
Delete it before entering working records. Add rows without changing headers.
Use public, hypothetical or aggregate information only; no patient identifiers.

Use one row per collection rule. Test the form using synthetic cases covering missing, impossible and boundary values; record findings before recruitment.

Field guide
- check: Name the exact collection rule, allowed value or boundary being tested.
- decision or finding: Record the observed behavior and the agreed rule or required correction.
- owner: Name the accountable team role or approved internal person code.
- date: Use YYYY-MM-DD for the actual check or decision date.
- resolved: Record Yes or No, with the evidence of a successful retest or remaining action.

Decision rule
Resolve critical collection ambiguities and rerun affected cases before opening collection. An unchecked item remains unresolved.

Write UNKNOWN, NOT REPORTED or NOT APPLICABLE with a reason in text fields.
Leave unresolved numeric fields empty and explain them in separate project notes;
never encode unknown values as zero. Store the source record and reviewer/date
in your project record. This planning aid is not a validated instrument.

Official guidance
https://www.cochrane.org/authors/handbooks-and-manuals/handbook/current/chapter-05