Overview
This lecture explains the PRISMA protocol for conducting systematic literature reviews, outlining its structure, goals, and practical steps for students.
What is PRISMA?
- PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
- It is a guideline to improve transparency and completeness in reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
- PRISMA standardizes how literature searches, selection criteria, and data extraction are reported.
- The protocol focuses on reporting and documentation, not how to conduct the review itself.
Goals of PRISMA
- Ensures transparency so other researchers can replicate the review.
- Guarantees completeness by requiring all relevant information to be reported.
- Allows comparability between different systematic reviews through standardized reporting.
PRISMA Flowchart (Diagram) Steps
- Identification: Search databases and record the total number of found studies.
- Screening: Review titles and abstracts, filtering out irrelevant studies.
- Eligibility: Assess full-text articles, excluding those that do not meet criteria.
- Inclusion: Finalize the group of studies to include in the review.
- The flowchart documents each step, enhancing clarity in the methods section.
Implementing PRISMA in Your Review
- Search multiple relevant databases and document methods.
- Develop clear inclusion and exclusion criteria for study selection.
- Extract key information (e.g., sample size, methods, results) from included studies.
- Assess the quality and reliability of each study before inclusion.
- Fill out and include your own PRISMA flowchart in your review.
PRISMA Checklist (27 Items)
- Title & Abstract: Clearly mark as a systematic review and summarize the study.
- Introduction: Provide background, rationale, and research questions.
- Methods: Define criteria, search strategies, selection, extraction, bias assessment, and analysis plans.
- Results: Report search outcomes, study features, findings, and bias assessments.
- Discussion: Interpret findings, discuss limitations, and consider implications for practice and research.
- Additional Info: List protocol registration, funding, conflicts of interest, and data/materials access.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Systematic Review — Comprehensive summary of research studies on a topic, following a structured method.
- Meta-Analysis — Statistical analysis that combines results from multiple studies.
- PRISMA Flowchart — Diagram showing the flow of studies through each review phase.
- Inclusion Criteria — Set of rules for determining which studies to include.
- Screening — The process of filtering studies based on relevance and criteria.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Visit the PRISMA website to download the current PRISMA 2020 guidelines and checklist.
- Cite the latest PRISMA source when conducting your systematic review.
- Create and include a PRISMA flowchart tailored to your own research process.
- Prepare a complete checklist if writing a thesis or significant research paper.