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Systematic Review Protocol Template
Covers the sections PROSPERO and most journals expect. See our protocol writing guide for the reasoning behind each section.
1. Title
A descriptive title including "systematic review" and your key PICO elements.
2. Background & rationale
Why this question matters, what's already known, and the specific gap this review addresses.
3. Objectives
Your primary research question, structured with PICO. List secondary objectives separately if applicable.
4. Eligibility criteria
Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study designs to be included/excluded. Be specific enough that a second person could apply these criteria consistently.
5. Information sources
Databases to be searched (e.g., PubMed, Embase, CINAHL), date ranges, and any additional sources (trial registries, grey literature, citation searching).
6. Search strategy
Full search string for at least one database, with a note that the strategy will be adapted for each database's syntax. See our search strategy template.
7. Study selection process
Number of independent reviewers screening titles/abstracts and full texts, and how disagreements will be resolved.
8. Data extraction
What data will be extracted, by whom, and whether extraction will be duplicated. See our data extraction template.
9. Risk of bias assessment
Which tool(s) will be used, matched to your included study designs. See our risk of bias templates.
10. Data synthesis
Planned approach — meta-analysis (specify model) or narrative synthesis, and criteria for when each will be used.
11. Certainty assessment
Note that GRADE will be applied to key outcomes. See our GRADE checklist.
12. Timeline
Realistic milestones for each stage.