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If you are planning to write a systematic review, scoping review, or similar type of review, you may wish to register a review protocol towards the beginning of the process. Publishing a protocol is not mandatory if you are writing a review, but it is increasingly considered best practice.
Registering a protocol can help improve transparency and reduce bias in the conduct of reviews. It also allows researchers to discover which reviews are currently in progress, reducing the likelihood of duplication of effort.
Many journal publishers now require a protocol to be registered at the outset of a review.
Registration sites may provide guidance on what to include in a protocol. General guidance on what to include is also available in the PRISMA-P checklist.
You may wish to consider publishing or registering a protocol on one of the sites below.
Journals
Systematic review registration sites
The JBI recommends that protocols are published in PROSPERO. The JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis includes information about how to write protocols for scoping reviews, umbrella reviews, and various types of systematic review.
General registration sites
Systematic reviews are a type of literature review of research which require equivalent standards of rigour as primary research. They have a clear, logical rationale that is reported to the reader of the review. They are used in research and policymaking to inform evidence-based decisions and practice. They differ from traditional literature reviews particularly in the following elements of conduct and reporting.
Systematic reviews:
Find out more about systematic reviews and how you can get support for conducting a review in our guide:
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) website can help you to make sure that you are reporting your review process in an appropriate way:
You can also find guidance for reporting specific elements of the review process:
