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Systematic Reviews for the Health Sciences: Protocol

Protocol - What is it?

Protocols typically include:

Rationale
Research Question
Criteria for inclusion/exclusion of studies in the review
Types of studies, populations, interventions, outcome measures considered
Search strategy to identify studies
Selection methods for studies
Assessment method of quality
Data Extraction and synthesis methods
Timeframe for conducting review

Source:
Booth, Sutton, A., Clowes, M., Martyn-St James, M., & Booth, A. (2022). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review / Andrew Booth, Anthea Sutton, Mark Clowes, Marrissa Martyn-St James. (Third edition.). SAGE.

Example Protocols

PRISMA for systematic review protocols (PRISMA-P)
Aims to facilitate the development and reporting of systematic review protocols
Statement paper:
Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M, Shekelle P, Stewart LA. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev. 2015;4(1):1. doi: 10.1186/2046-4053-4-1

Explanation and Elaboration paper:
Shamseer L, Moher D, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M, Shekelle P, Stewart LA, the PRISMA-P Group. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015: elaboration and explanation. BMJ 2015.349:g7647. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7647
Evidence Synthesis Protocol Template from OSF

Systematic Review Template created by Sarah Visintini
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Protocol Registration - Why?

Avoid duplicating others' work
Reduces bias with transparent methods
May be required by journal before submitting a systematic review

Protocol Registration - Where?

Additional Resources

Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 3:48 PM
URL: https://libguides.niu.edu/SR
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Subjects: Health and Human Services

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