1. Prepare Before You Start Your Systematic Review
Planning ahead is key to a successful systematic review. Taking the time to prepare before diving into the review process can significantly reduce the risk of discrepancies and bias. Your preparation should include setting clear timelines and milestones to keep your project on track. A project management tool, such as a Gantt chart, can help visualize your timeline and ensure you allocate sufficient time for each phase of the review. Remember, thorough preparation can save you time and headaches down the road by making your review process more efficient and ensuring your results are reliable.
2. Use a Review Framework to Define Eligibility Criteria
Well-defined eligibility criteria are the backbone of any systematic review. Using a review framework, such as PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome), can help you create clear and concise eligibility criteria that will guide the development of your search strategy and facilitate the screening process. A clear framework not only keeps your review focused but also helps you stay consistent in your approach to selecting studies, ensuring that your review remains systematic and minimizes bias.
3. Let Your Protocol Guide the Data Extraction Template
Your protocol is more than just a plan—it’s the foundation of your entire systematic review. Use it to inform the structure of your data extraction template. A well-thought-out protocol will minimize the risk of selective reporting by providing a clear roadmap for what data needs to be collected. It also serves as a valuable tool for your review team, reducing the likelihood of arbitrary decision-making and ensuring that everyone is on the same page throughout the review process.
4. Register Your Protocol to Avoid Research Wastage
If you plan to publish your review findings, registering your protocol is a crucial step. Registration not only helps to avoid research duplication and wastage but also increases the credibility of your review by demonstrating that your protocol was established before the review began. It provides a public record of your intended methods and objectives, adding an extra layer of transparency and accountability to your work.
5. Use the Protocol as a Framework for the Final Report
These tips are just the beginning! For a deeper dive into best practices, strategies, and expert insights, download our comprehensive eBook on intervention systematic review protocols. In this eBook, we compile the collective knowledge of Covidence experts, our user community, and leading resources like Cochrane and PRISMA to provide you with everything you need to craft top-notch protocols that set your reviews up for success.
Authors should write and register a protocol outlining the review methodology.
Registering a protocol:
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 is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in HEALTHCARE 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.
The Methods Wizard helps the review team develop the methods section of a systematic review protocol.
