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Systematic Review: Protocol

This guide presents tools and advice for conducting systematic reviews.

Protocol

Protocol

Every review must commence with the development of a protocol. A review protocol describes the rationale, hypothesis or research question, and planned methods of the review. It should be prepared before a review is started and used as a guide to carry out the review. 

Detailed protocols should be developed a priori, made publicly available, and registered in a registry such as PROSPERO.
 

PROSPERO

PROSPERO is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice, and international development, where there is a health related outcome. PROSPERO accepts registrations for systematic reviews, rapid reviews and umbrella reviews. PROSPERO does not accept scoping reviews or literature scans.

Open Research Repositories

If you can’t upload your protocol to PROSPERO you can make your protocol visible by uploading it to an open research repository such as those below:

Open Science Framework

The Open Science Framework is a free, open platform to support users' research and enable collaboration. 

Figshare

Figshare is an open repository where users can make all of their research outputs available in a citable, shareable and discoverable manner.

Readings

Covidence (2024) A Practical Guide to Protocol Development for Systematic Reviews. Melbourne: Covidence. Available at: https://www.covidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/A_practical_guide_Protocol_Development_for_Systematic_Reviews.pdf.

Criteria

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

You need to identify the criteria that will be used to determine which research studies will be included. These inclusion and exclusion criteria must be decided before you start the review. This is to ensure that your search targets articles that will provide an answer to your review question, allowing you to exclude any irrelevant ones. Criteria that should be considered include:
 

Type of studies

It is important to select articles with an appropriate design for the research question.

Type of participants

If focusing on a patient population, it is important to define their age, gender, diagnosis, as well as any other relevant factors.

Types of intervention

Describe the intervention that you are investigating. You may want to consider whether to include interventions carried out all over the world or just in the Ireland. The Cochrane Collaboration recommends finding all available studies from all over the world. As before, the interventions that are to be excluded may also need to be described here.

Types of outcome measures

Outcome measures usually refer to measurable outcomes or ‘clinical changes in health’. For example, these could include body structures and functions like pain and fatigue, activities as in functional abilities and participation or quality of life questionnaires.
 

Adapted from Bettany-Saltikov, J. (2010) ‘Learning how to undertake a systematic review: part 1’, Nursing Standard, vol. 24, no. 50, pp. 47. Available at: https://link-gale-com.ucd.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A236815054/ITOF?u=dublin&sid=summon&xid=7e73a237.