Eligibility boundary-case worksheet =================================== StatMedAnalysis | Downloadable worksheet | 5 November 2026 Resolve an ambiguous inclusion criterion and apply the decision consistently to earlier records. Working instructions Start with one borderline full text. Copy the prespecified criterion in your working notes and pinpoint the passage creating uncertainty. Have reviewers independently classify the case, record their rationale, then adjudicate and identify other records affected by the interpretation. Working record Save a local copy. Use public, hypothetical or aggregate information. Project code ____________________ Prepared on ____________________ Protocol version and criterion identifier ___________________________________________________________________ Borderline report ID and passage location ___________________________________________________________________ Interpretation A and its implication ___________________________________________________________________ Interpretation B and its implication ___________________________________________________________________ Reviewer decisions before discussion ___________________________________________________________________ Adjudicated decision and full-text exclusion reason if applicable ___________________________________________________________________ Previously screened IDs requiring recheck ___________________________________________________________________ Protocol clarification or dated amendment ___________________________________________________________________ Hypothetical worked case A fictional protocol permits community settings. A clinic distributes the intervention during home visits. Reviewers disagree about whether recruitment site or delivery site defines setting. They locate the protocol definition and recheck earlier decisions made under the other interpretation. Decision and follow-up Separate clarification of an existing rule from a change in eligibility. Document the date, justification and affected records whenever eligibility changes. Keep unresolved cases available for follow-up. Decision _______________________ Date ___________________________ Evidence retained at _____________________________________________ Next action ____________________ Owner __________________________ Official reference checked 5 November 2026 https://www.cochrane.org/authors/handbooks-and-manuals/handbook/current/chapter-04