Hernán and Robins: emulating a target trial with observational data

What changed

Made target-trial protocols explicit for emulating comparisons in observational databases.

Scientific scope

The record is the exact two-author 2016 American Journal of Epidemiology paper. Target-trial specification organizes design and exposes avoidable biases; it does not randomize observational data, remove unmeasured confounding or guarantee causal identification.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record is the exact two-author 2016 American Journal of Epidemiology paper. Target-trial specification organizes design and exposes avoidable biases; it does not randomize observational data, remove unmeasured confounding or guarantee causal identification.

Contributors

• Miguel A. Hernán · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.
• James M. Robins · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• Oxford Academic target-trial paper
• PMC full text of the target-trial paper

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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