Clinical trials
Track progress without declaring victory.
A registry tells readers what a team planned and how a trial is progressing. Results and evidence judgments require separate records.
Trial anatomy
Nine fields separate operations from evidence.
A trial’s status is useful operational information. It is not a conclusion about benefit.
Registry identity
The canonical registration identifier, registry source, dates observed, and last verification date.
Phase
The registered development phase, when applicable, without treating phase as a quality score.
Operational status
Recruiting, active, completed, suspended, terminated, withdrawn, or unknown—with the status date.
Sponsor role
Who is responsible for the study and how company, academic, or other involvement is disclosed.
Arms and comparison
What participants receive and what control, comparator, masking, or allocation structure is registered.
Endpoints
The registered primary and secondary outcomes, their time frames, and later changes when known.
Milestones
Start, primary completion, completion, results posting, publication, and regulatory events as distinct dates.
Results availability
Whether results are absent, posted to a registry, in a preprint, peer reviewed, corrected, or superseded.
Linked claims
The exact propositions the trial can inform, with the relevant population, outcome, and evidence relationship.
Keep four states separate
“Completed” describes operations, not an outcome.
- Registered
- A record exists; this is not government approval or scientific validation.
- Operational status
- The trial’s progress may change and must be tied to a verification date.
- Results available
- Findings may be posted or published, but still require appraisal and context.
- Evidence conclusion
- Benefit, harm, or uncertainty is assessed for a specific claim—not inferred from status.
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