Results Interpretation — 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 estimate. State confidence_level as a percentage, preserve the original effect scale and include a reference group and assessment window.

Field guide
- outcome: Name the endpoint and its operational definition.
- effect measure: Name the scale, such as risk ratio, odds ratio or mean difference.
- reference: State the comparison group or fixed reference value.
- estimate: Enter the numerical point estimate on the named effect scale.
- interval lower: Enter the numerical lower confidence bound on that same scale.
- interval upper: Enter the numerical upper confidence bound; confirm it is not below the lower bound.
- confidence level: Enter the percentage as a number, for example 95 rather than 0.95.
- units: State measurement units; ratios are dimensionless and percentage points differ from percent.
- time window: Specify the follow-up interval over which the estimate applies.
- limitations: Describe design, precision, missingness, confounding or generalisability limits that affect interpretation.

Decision rule
Do not interpret a confidence interval crossing the null as proof of no effect; compare the full range with scientifically meaningful values.

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-15