Protocol guidelines help researchers create a sound research plan.
PRISMA-P was published in 2015 aiming to facilitate the development and reporting of systematic review protocols.
Ghezzi-Kopel and Porciello (2020) created an evidence synthesis protocol template that is freely available from OSF. It pulls from both PRISMA as well as materials from the Campbell Collaboration.
Ghezzi-Kopel, K., & Porciello, J. (2020). Evidence synthesis protocol template. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ZWD6N
This is a general purpose systematic review registration form that applies to a multitude of disciplines (e.g., psychology, economics, law, physics, etc.) as well as several review types (e.g., scoping, meta-analysis, etc.).
Van den Akker, O., Peters, G. Y., Bakker, C., Carlsson, R., Coles, N. A., Corker, K. S., … Yeung, S. (2020). Generalized systematic review registration form. https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/3nbea
The JBI Scoping Review Network (of JBI, a global organization promoting and supporting evidence-based decisions that improve
health and health service delivery) provides downloadable Word templates to guide and assist reviewers in developing a scoping review protocol and scoping review.
If you plan to register your protocol in PROSPERO, check out their protocol template.
If you plan to register your protocol in OSF, check out their generalized registration form.
Conducting guidelines are essentially the playbook researchers use when conducting a systematic review or other type of evidence synthesis. These guidelines include guidance on aspects such as:
JBI is an international non-profit research and development organization based in Australia. They provide resources on how to best conduct JBI systematic reviews and scoping reviews.
The Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews is a living document published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, primarily focused on medical treatments and interventions.
The MECIR Manual provides standards for the conduct of new Cochrane Intervention Reviews.
The MECCIR guides the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews of intervention effectiveness. It's two documents (both conducting and reporting guidelines) in one.
CEE Guidelines were developed from health sciences methodologies and translated for application in environmental management and other types of environmental research.
COSTER provides a set of recommendations that should facilitate the production of credible, high-value systematic reviews of environmental health evidence.
Based in the U.K. at the University College London, the center offers guidance on conducting systematic reviews across many areas of social science policy, such as: education, health, social work, economics, environment, and crime.
In addition to conducting guidelines, researchers are expected to follow reporting guidelines when conducting systematic reviews. Below are several examples of reporting standards for evidence synthesis.
PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PRISMA primarily focuses on the reporting of reviews evaluating the effects of human health interventions but can be applied outside of the health sciences.
Key PRISMA documents include:
ROSES is a collaborative initiative with the aim of improving the standards of reporting in evidence syntheses in the field of environment. At the core of ROSES is a set of detailed state-of-the art forms for ensuring evidence syntheses report their methods to the highest possible standards.
Key ROSES documents include:
In addition to providing conduct guidelines, CEE also provides guidance on how to report your findings.
Mark Newman and Diana Elbourne of the EPPI Centre have produced a draft set of ‘reporting guidelines’ which authors might use in reporting primary empirical studies in education so that readers of articles can more accurately assess the usefulness of the findings. The guidelines may also be of use to Journal Editors and Peer Reviewers.
Standards for the conduct and reporting of new Cochrane Intervention Reviews.
The MECCIR guides the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews of intervention effectiveness.
There are tons of guidelines out there related to evidence synthesis research, and it can be overwhelming to navigate them. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing conducting and reporting guidelines:
When in doubt, reach out to askscience@duke.edu or asklib@duke.edu for guidance.
