Systematic Reviews

• Often a requirement for publication.
• Establishes the rigor of the review methods.
• Enables the reproducibility of the review.
• Functions as a project management tool for the review.
• Reduces unnecessary duplication of reviews.

• Systematic Review Protocol Template (PROSPERO)
• Scoping Review Protocol Template (NIH Library)
• Scoping Review Protocol Template (JBI)
  • Guidance article:​​​​ Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Khalil H, Larsen P, Marnie C, Pollock D, Tricco AC, Munn Z. Best practice guidance and reporting items for the development of scoping review protocols. JBI Evid Synth. 2022 Apr 1;20(4):953-968. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-21-00242. PMID: 35102103. 

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 

• PRISMA-P Checklist 

Why register a protocol before conducting a review?

• Many journals require a registered protocol in order to consider a review for publication.
• Establishes a public document stating that you are conducting a review.
• Establishes the rigor and reproducibility of the review. 
• Reduces unnecessary duplicate reviews.

Where to register a protocol?

Different registries accept different kinds of protocols:

• PROSPERO (systematic reviews, rapid reviews, and umbrella reviews of health outcomes)
• Open Science Framework (any review type in any discipline)

Why publish a protocol?

In addition to registering the protocol, you may want to consider publishing the protocol itself as an article. Peer review of the protocol may improve the review methodology. Publication of a protocol can be a contribution to the literature on systematic review methods. 

Where to publish a protocol?

• Some subject-specific journals may publish protocols. 
• Multidisciplinary open access journals that publish protocols: 
  • BMJ Open
  • PLOS One (NYU has an agreement with PLOS for no-fee publication) 
• Evidence synthesis-focused journals that publish protocols: 
  • Systematic Reviews
  • JBI Evidence Synthesis