Five years of Trials

We launched Trials to create a space for all types of article related to randomised trials taking advantage of the unlimited space provided by a web-based publication [1]. Trials is a forum for discussing both specific randomised trials as well as general issues applying to trials. Over its five years of publication, Trials has become recognised for its ambition to publish all trial results regardless of their outcome [2], study protocols [3], and critiques of trials published elsewhere [4]. Trials has also encouraged innovation in trial reporting [5,6] and stimulated debate in the medical research community [7]. In this editorial, which marks the launch of a special retrospective collection of articles highlighting 'Five years of Trials' (http://www.trialsjournal.com/series/5years webcite), we discuss the journal's achievements to date, and outline some of the challenges still ahead.The other eight articles featured in this series are examples - although there are others - of where Trials has demonstrated progress on its objectives since the launch of the journal. These articles cover the publication of raw data; publication of extended versions of articles previously published summarily elsewhere; reflective, lessons learned, articles; negative results of trials; and content of educational value on important issues in trial conduct and reporting, such as ethics and reporting bias, which might not have found suitable publication venues before the existence of Trials."Trials will ... encourage the publication of protocols" [1]Recent years have seen a move to greater transparency in reporting research and especially randomised trials, most obviously in the widespread requirement for trial registration [8]. Also, five years ago evidence had begun to accumulate of wide-scale discrepancies between trial publications and what had been stated in the original trial protocol [9]. Publication of trial protocols was rarely possible in paper-based journals [10].Increasing prot