What is a protocol?
What is a Protocol?
An evidence synthesis protocol states your rationale, hypothesis, and planned methodology. Much like a blueprint for a house, a protocol outlines the planned framework for the evidence synthesis. Members of the team use the protocol as a guide to conduct the research. It is recommended that you register your protocol prior to conducting your review. This will improve transparency and reproducibility, reduce bias, and will also ensure that other research teams do not duplicate your efforts. A protocol template and checklist are included on this page, as well as a checklist for structured literature reviews that serves as a similar document to an evidence synthesis protocol.
- Evidence Synthesis Protocol TemplateUse this document as a template to prepare a protocol for a range of evidence synthesis methodologies (such as systematic reviews, scoping reviews, or systematic maps).
- Planning Worksheet for Structured Literature ReviewsWriting a literature review for a research paper or as part of your thesis? Even if you’re not performing a full evidence synthesis, completing the items on this checklist and keeping them as record of your planned work (like a study protocol) ensures reproducibility, transparency, and reduction of bias.
- PRISMA ChecklistPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The 27 checklist items pertain to the content of a systematic review and meta-analysis, which include the title, abstract, methods, results, discussion and funding.
- PRISMA Extension for Scoping ReviewsThe PRISMA extension for scoping reviews, or PRISMA-ScR for short, contains 20 essential reporting items and 2 optional items to include when completing a scoping review.
- PRISMA Extension for Network Meta-AnalysisThe PRISMA extension for network meta-analysis, or PRISMA-NMA, provides guidance for reporting systematic reviews comparing multiple treatments using direct and indirect evidence in network meta-analyses. In addition to providing guidance It also highlights educational information related to key considerations in the practice of network meta-analysis.