Scoping Reviews: Step 2: Develop a Protocol
Created by Health Science Librarians
About Step 2: Develop a Protocol
Click an item below to see how it applies to Step 2: Develop a Protocol.
For PRISMA, there are specific items you will want to report in your protocol. For this step, review the PRISMA-P standards and the explanation document.
Covidence is a tool that can be used for screening, quality assessment, and data extraction (charting). Decisions made in this stage will inform the logistics and completion of future review steps. Specify the use of Covidence in the protocol, if applicable, and note team member roles for these tasks.
When writing your protocol, a librarian can help you:
- Develop and refine your research plan according to scoping review best practices
- Advise on your literature searching methods documentation
- Determine if/where to publish or share your completed protocol
Do I need to write a protocol?
It is best practice to develop a protocol and make it publicly available before starting a scoping review. Protocols describe the rationale, hypothesis, and planned methods of the project before the review has begun and allow readers of completed reviews to identify deviations from planned methods and determine whether the bias impacts the interpretation of review results and conclusions. You can upload a review protocol to a website or registry and make it accessible so researchers can know what reviews are planned or in process. While not an inclusive list, several options of places to upload or deposit your protocol can be found in our Protocol FAQ.
Write a protocol
HSL Protocol Template
What to Include
Many elements of a scoping review will need to be detailed in advance in the protocol. An example of items included in the protocol are:
- Team members
- Rationale and objectives of the review
- Eligibility criteria (also referred to as inclusion and exclusion criteria)
- Databases and key terms of the literature search (ideally, a full search strategy for at least one database)
- Process and tools for study selection (screening), quality assessment, and data extraction (charting)
- Data items that will be extracted
- Methods of data synthesis
- and more!
Unsure of what to include in your scoping review protocol or how to address certain items? PRISMA 2015 has a special extension specifically for best reporting methods of writing a protocol. While originally developed for systematic review protocols, much of the guidance in this document is applicable to scoping review protocols as well. View a list of help documents below, including an E&E (Elaboration & Explanation) document for examples.
- PRISMA-P 2015 StatementPRISMA reporting guideline for systematic review protocols.
- PRISMA-P 2015 E&EPRISMA-P Elaboration & Explanation document of the 2015 Statement (includes examples).
- PRISMA-P 2015 ChecklistChoose between PDF and Word versions of the PRISMA-P 2015 Checklist
Templates
- Scoping Review Protocol Template - JBI Evidence SynthesisA downloadable template in Word to guide and assist reviewers in developing a scoping review protocol and scoping review. Available from: https://jbi.global/scoping-review-network/resources
- Review Protocol Template by Sarah VistintiniA downloadable Word document that can be used to draft a systematic review protocol
- Evidence Synthesis Protocol TemplateA downloadable Word document that can be used to create a systematic review protocol
- PROSPERO Protocol Registration FormA PDF of the PROSPERO registration form
Make your protocol visible
You can upload your protocol to a website or registry and make it accessible to others. While not an inclusive list, several options of places to upload or deposit your protocol can be found below. Alternatively, some journals publish scoping review protocols. Verify publishing requirements of scoping review protocols on the website of the journal in which you intend to submit for publication.
- Open Science Framework (OSF)Open repository for scientific research
- Carolina Digital RepositoryLong-term storage and access for scholarly works, datasets, research materials and records produced by the UNC-CH community. Choose "Other Deposits" and then select "Poster, Presentation, Protocol, or Paper".
- PROSPEROInternational prospective register of systematic reviews
