#54 Reporting systematic reviews

Hey friends,

In one of my recent webinars covering literature reviews, a participant asked how to report a systematic review.

I had only a few minutes left. So my short answer was PRISMA (Matthew et al., 2021)

And I could only go very very quickly through the steps of doing a systematic review

Here I want to provide more details

First, what is a systematic review?

Systematic reviews are one of the most important tools in research.

They help summarize:

• what we know

• highlight what we don’t

• guide future studies, policies, and practices

But for these reviews to be useful, they need to be reported clearly

In short, you need to explain:

• Why the review was done

• How it was conducted

• What you found

That’s where PRISMA comes in

PRISMA is the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Think of it as a guide that help you write systematic reviews in a way that others can understand, replicate, and trust

It exists since 2009 and authors/reviewers/journals have been using it a lot since then.

In 2021, PRISMA got an update to reflect the evolution of research methods.

Why was PRISMA 2009 upgraded to PRISMA 2020?

• We now have tools like machine learning and natural language processing to speed up the screening of the literature

• We have also new ways of analyzing data

• Data sharing is now the norm as part of Open Science

Let me go through what we find in PRISMA 2020:

• A 27-item checklist that covers everything (from the title and abstract to how the review was conducted and how results are shared)

• Detailed tips and examples for each item (this helps researchers understand exactly what to report in their paper)

• A checklist for abstracts

• Improved flow diagrams to help authors follow the review process (This includes how many studies you found and why you excluded some)

Who should use PRISMA?

PRISMA is mainly for authors of systematic reviews. But it’s also useful for

• Reviews of causes, prevalence, or prediction

• Mixed-methods reviews

• Living or updated systematic reviews

Even if you are not doing a review, PRISMA can help:

• Editors and peer reviewers who want to ensure submitted reviews have high standards

• Policy makers and healthcare providers who need clear & reliable summaries of health evidence

• The public who want to understand the basis for science recommendations

So how do you use it?

Look at PRISMA before you start writing. That way, you can make sure you’re collecting the right data from the start.

The PRISMA website offers tools like checklists/templates/online tools to go through the process step by step. Keep in mind that the PRISMA model will help you make your systematic review:

• More readable, even for non-experts

• More reproducible so that others can repeat your work

• More useful, your results can directly inform real-world decisions

One more important point

Complete and transparent reporting reduces research waste:
researchers will be able to build on previous work instead of repeating or misinterpreting it.

In short, systematic reviews are powerful research tools
But their value depends a lot on how well they’re reported

That’s where PRISMA 2020 helps us do better science, and communicate it better

If you are planning your first review or improving your next one, PRISMA is the model to adopt. You can learn more at prisma-statement.org

The PRISMA website offers tools like checklists/templates/online tools to go through the process step by step.

That’s it for this week.

Let us know in the comments if you think I missed anything or if you have any other suggestions.

As usual, if anything is unclear or if you need help with your research projects, please contact me and I will reply as soon as possible

See you next Sunday!

Jamal

—
Source: Page, Matthew J., et al. "The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews." bmj 372 (2021). doi: 20.2236/bmj.n71

My favorite things this week

1. A session with a major University in the United Arab Emirates about Research Information Systems

2. A discussion with a Lebanese University about showcasing their research

3. A Webinar with researchers and PhD students in Morocco about the collection/management/formatting of references with EndNote

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