Systematic Reviews- Legacy (2020-2022): Develop a Protocol
Created by Health Science Librarians
Role of the librarian in this stage
When writing your protocol, a librarian can help you:
- Develop and refine your research plan according to systematic review best practices
- Advise on your literature searching methods documentation
- Determine if/where to publish or share your completed protocol
Contact HSL About Your Review
Ready to start a systematic review? HSL Librarians can help!
Fill out the Systematic Review Request Form and the best-suited librarian will get back to you promptly. Our systematic review service is only available to faculty, staff, students, and others who are affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill.
Necessity of a protocol
Protocols are necessary for several reasons:
- They describe the rationale, hypothesis, and planned methods of the project before the review has begun. This acts as a roadmap for the research for teams and reduces bias in the review process by pre-defining methods.
- They allow readers of completed reviews to identify deviations from planned methods and determine whether the bias impacts the interpretation of review results and conclusions (PRISMA - P 2015 Statement)
- They let others know what reviews are planned or in process. This helps teams make decisions about which reviews to work on and which to avoid due overrepresentation in the literature. This can also be a way to identify other experts in your field to collaborate or consult on future reviews.
Determine eligibility criteria
In order to reduce bias, eligibility criteria need to be determined early in the systematic review planning process. The term "eligibility criteria" refers to what you plan to include and exclude from your systematic review. These criteria are decided after the research question is developed but before searches are completed. Criteria to consider include study design, dates of interest, whether you will include non-English studies, study duration, and setting. Below is a list of criteria that may be used to determine inclusion or exclusion.
| Type of criteria | Example |
|---|---|
| Date of publication | Date ranges may be applied when updating a systematic review or when specific to an intervention or therapy |
| Language of publication | Include studies in any language or limit to those that can be read by the review team |
| Type of participants | May be limited to specific groups of people or age ranges |
| Study design | May include specific study designs and exclude others based on best to answer the research question |
| Intervention of interest | Includes interventions of interest and excludes any others |
| Outcomes of interest | Includes outcomes of interest and may exclude studies reporting outcomes not of interest |
| Setting | May be limited to a specific setting like inpatient, ambulatory, classroom, etc. |
| Type of publication | Reviews, editorials, commentaries, and letters are often excluded |
Guidelines and standards
- PRISMAPRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviewsThis document is intended to enhance the use, understanding and dissemination of the PRISMA 2020 Statement. Through examples and explanations, the meaning and rationale for each checklist item are presented.
- PRISMA ExtensionsSeveral extensions of the PRISMA Statement have been developed to facilitate the reporting of different types or aspects of systematic reviews. Click this link to view the PRISMA extensions.
- SQUIRE 2.0SQUIRE 2.0 is intended for reports that describe systematic work to improve the quality, safety, and value of healthcare, using a range of methods to establish the association between observed outcomes and intervention(s).
- IOM Systematic Review StandardsA list of standards for systematic reviews from the Institute of Medicine, including a list of the steps that a systematic review should include and what those steps should entail.
- Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Version 6, 2019)Read the revised Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews online
- Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Manual for Evidence SynthesisThe JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis is designed to provide authors with a comprehensive guide to conducting JBI systematic reviews. It describes in detail the process of planning, undertaking and writing up a systematic review using JBI methods.
Templates
Use any of the templates below to assist in writing a systematic review protocol.
- 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.
- Carolina Digital RepositoryLong-term storage and access for scholarly works, datasets, research materials and records produced by the UNC-CH community.
- Campbell Systematic ReviewsCampbell Systematic Reviews is a journal that publishes systematic reviews and protocols
- PROSPEROInternational prospective register of systematic reviews
- Cochrane Database of Systematic ReviewsCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is a journal and database that publishes systematic reviews and protocols
- Systematic Reviews (BMC)A journal that publishes high quality systematic review products including systematic review protocols, systematic reviews related to a very broad definition of health, rapid reviews, updates of already completed systematic reviews, and methods research related to the science of systematic reviews, such as decision modelling.
- Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)A review title can be registered with JBI on completion of the online Systematic Review Title Registration Form. Once titles become registered with JBI, they are listed on the website.
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