Planning Guide

How to Write a Systematic Review Protocol

A good protocol locks your methods before the screening starts. It keeps the review reproducible, reduces bias, and prevents scope drift halfway through the project.

Why Write the Protocol First?

A systematic review protocol is the document that explains exactly how the review will be conducted before results are known. It tells readers what question you are asking, what evidence will count, how screening will work, and how decisions will be reported.

Reduces Bias

You commit to the methods before seeing which studies are easy or inconvenient to include.

Improves Team Alignment

Everyone screens against the same definitions, databases, and decision rules.

Makes Reporting Easier

The protocol becomes the backbone for your methods section and PRISMA reporting.

What a Systematic Review Protocol Should Include

1. Research Question

Define the question using a framework such as PICO so the population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes are explicit.

2. Eligibility Criteria

Document study designs, populations, outcomes, date/language rules, and what is excluded. If the criteria are vague, screening quality collapses later.

3. Search Plan

List which databases you will search, which export formats you will accept, and how you will handle duplicates and updates.

4. Screening Workflow

Specify whether you will use single screening, dual screening, conflict resolution, and any AI assistance.

5. Extraction and Reporting

Define what data you will extract, how risk of bias will be assessed, and how counts will feed into a PRISMA flow diagram.

Common Protocol Mistakes

Writing criteria that are too broad: reviewers start interpreting terms differently after a few hundred abstracts.
Not specifying export formats: database results arrive without abstracts or identifiers and delay screening.
Skipping conflict rules: disagreements become ad hoc and impossible to explain in the methods section.

Protocol Checklist

  • ✓ Research question and objective
  • ✓ Eligibility criteria with inclusion and exclusion rules
  • ✓ Database list and search strategy
  • ✓ Import and deduplication plan
  • ✓ Screening method and conflict resolution process
  • ✓ Data extraction fields and quality assessment method
  • ✓ Reporting outputs, including PRISMA counts

Related Guides

PICO Framework

Structure the review question before you write the protocol.

Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria

Turn broad ideas into rules reviewers can apply consistently.

How to Do a Systematic Review

Return to the complete workflow once the protocol is ready.

Ready to turn the protocol into a workflow?

Use Lumina to apply your screening rules consistently across imports, reviewers, and PRISMA reporting.

Try the Demo See Pricing