Systematic Reviews: Protocol

A protocol is a detailed plan for completing a systematic review: 

1. Establish the criteria for screening literature.
2. Determine the sources and methods for searching literature.
3. Select quality assessment tools for evaluating the literature.
4. Decide on the process for data extraction from selected articles.
5. Publish your protocol on a website or registry for public access.

A protocol is highly encouraged if you are planning to publish your systematic review. A protocol outlines the objectives, methods, and primary outcomes of interest for the systematic review. It ensures transparency of methods and allows peers to review the approach you will use to extract and quantitatively summarize your outcome data. Additionally, it will guide your team through the systematic review process and illustrate to readers how the final review may differ from your initial plan, helping them assess any potential bias in your results and conclusions.

Register your Protocol:

• Prospero
• Cochrane Collaboration
• Campbell Collaboration (Social Sciences)

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