VETS5016 - Evidence-based veterinary medicine and systematic review: Step 1: Systematic review protocol

This infographic shows how systematic reviews work.

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The plan for a systematic review is called a Protocol and defines the steps that will be undertaken in the review.

The Cochrane Collaboration defines a Protocol as follows:

The plan or set of steps to be followed in a study. A Protocol for a systematic review should describe the rationale for the review, the objectives, and the methods that will be used to locate, select, and critically appraise studies, and to collect and analyse data from the included studies.

A review protocol will include:

• Background to the study and the importance of the topic
• The objectives and scope
• Determine the selection criteria
• The planned search strategy
• Planned data extraction
• The proposed method for synthesising the findings

The protocol will help guide the process of the review and work as a point of reference to each part of the review.

Prisma Protocol