Depending on what type of systematic review you are undertaking and also the subject discipline you are working in, it may not be appropriate that you complete this step. However, the principles contained in this step are worthwhile even if you do not need to write and submit a protocol to ensure that your systematic review is as robust as it can be before you embark on your research. If you are unsure if you should write and submit a protocol, please talk to your supervisor.
Protocol overview
What is a protocol?
A protocol is a plan or guide outlining the steps that will take you through the Systematic Review process. Protocol guidance can be found in PRISMA 2020 statement (for medicine and health-related disciplines) or from ROSES (for environmental science related disciplines). This includes checklists, flow diagrams etc. Ramses is an alternative to PRISMA for realist reviews.
This BMC Medicine article "RAMESES publication standards: realist syntheses" discusses realist synthesis as an alternative systematic review method.
This article "ROSES RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses: pro forma, flow-diagram and descriptive summary of the plan and conduct of environmental systematic reviews and systematic maps" discusses the applicability of PRISMA and ROSES models for use in different disciplines.
Your protocol needs to include the following and its aim is to keep your SR on track and focused:
- Rationale / conceptual discussion of problem (background info)
- The review question (s) and objective (s)
- Search strategy
- Inclusion and Exclusion criteria for study selection
- Main outcomes
- Quality assessment measure
- Data extraction criteria
- Data synthesis strategy
- Project timetable
Where do I register it?
Check the following resources to see what best fits your needs:
- PROSPERO - International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Registration is free for anyone undertaking full systematic reviews of the effects of interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor health conditions, for which there is a health related outcome. Scoping reviews cannot be registered with Prospero.
- The Cochrane Collaboration: Proposing and registering new reviews - This page gives the steps on how to register your proposed Cochrane Review with a Cochrane Review Group.
- Center for Open Science - Register your protocol or research project, or consider uploading a preprint. Scoping Reviews can be registered with the Center for Open Science.
- Campbell Collaboration - How to submit a protocol for Scoping Reviews and evidence gap maps.
- searchRxiv - Part of CABI's Digital Library
- Figshare - an open access repository for data including protocols
Why write a protocol?
The benefits of a protocol
- Raises awareness of the review
- Promotes a systematic rather than ad hoc approach to the review
- Provides a public record of planned methods - reduces risk of bias
- Facilitates communication with others and promotes consistency between review team members
- Tracks use and impact of published reviews
- Permanent record whether final report published or not
Article: Best Practices in Systematic Reviews: The Importance of Protocols and Registration
Further reading: Planning a Systematic Review: think protocols a blog post by BMC on the benefits?
Covidence/A practical guide to Protocol Development for Systematic Reviews - this downloadable guide is a comprehensive resource for crafting systematic review protocols.