Register Your Protocol
Authors should write and register a protocol outlining the review methodology.
Registering a protocol:
- helps avoid duplication of similar reviews
- ensures transparency and reproducibility
- decreases the chance of reporting bias by enabling comparison of the registered protocol to the completed review
- increases the likelihood that a systematic review will be successfully completed
According to Cochrane,
"a protocol outlines the question that the review authors are addressing, detailing the criteria against which studies will be assessed for inclusion in the review, and describing how the authors will manage the review process. Protocols contain information that defines the health problem and the intervention under investigation, how benefits and harms will be measured, and the type of appropriate study design. The protocol also outlines the process for identifying, assessing, and summarizing studies in the review. By making this information available the protocol is a public record of how the review authors intend to answer their research question."
- PROSPERO
PROSPERO is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care, and the most common place to register a systematic review protocol. Search PROSPERO on your topic to determine if a systematic review on your topic is already in process. Before you begin your systematic review, register your systematic review with PROSPERO.
- PRISMA 2020 ChecklistAccording to the PRISMA checklist, in your published manuscript, you should "indicate if a review protocol exists, if and where it can be accessed (e.g., Web address), and, if available, provide registration information including registration number."
Protocol Development Tool
- Methods WizardThe Methods Wizard helps the review team develop the methods section of a systematic review protocol.