Depending on your discipline and needs for your review, consider registering your protocol before beginning your research. Registering your protocol promotes transparency and helps avoid questionable research practices.
Some places to consider registering:
PROSPERO An international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews with a health-related outcome. PROSPERO is produced by University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). PROSPERO aims to provide a comprehensive listing of systematic reviews registered at inception to help avoid duplication and reduce opportunity for reporting bias. PROSPERO .If you submit your protocol to PROSPERO you are free to pursue publication in the journal of your choosing.
Search PROSPERO to discover previously registered work.
Guidance Notes for Registering a Systematic Review Protocol with PROSPERO
OSF Preregistration Center for Open Science -A free, open platform to support research and enable collaboration. OSF Registries is a scholarly repository built for sharing, searching, and aggregating registrations of research. Any OSF project in any discipline can be registered. Upon registration a time-stamped version of the project is created that cannot be edited or deleted and is intended to act as a preserved version of a project. Write out specific details such as data collection methods, analysis plans, and rules for data exclusion, in order to make important decisions early on and have a clear record of these choices. Search OSF Registries to discover previously registered work.
Note: Organizations such as the Cochrane Collaboration, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) or Campbell Collaboration listed below have their own guidance and templates for systematic reviews - please contact the organizations for additional information.
Cochrane A repository for systematic reviews in health care, Cochrane publishes protocols that meet their strict guidelines. If a review protocol is accepted, you must publish your review as a Cochrane Review. See Proposing and Registering New Cochrane Reviews.
Search the Cochrane Library for any published protocols or reviews related to your topic of interest. Make sure your proposal does not duplicate any work already published or registered with Cochrane: You can also search the Cochrane website 'Our Evidence' section to identify published protocols and reviews, with links to the Cochrane Library, as well as the titles of reviews that have been registered and commenced, but do not yet have published protocols (see Chapter II: Planning a Cochrane Review).
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 6.4, 2023
Section II.1.4 Cochrane Protocols
Cochrane MECIR Manual Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews (MECIR) Standards for the Conduct and Reporting of New Cochrane Intervention Reviews, Reporting of Protocols and the Planning, Conduct and Reporting of Updates. The MECIR Standards are methodological standards to which all Cochrane Protocols, Reviews, and Updates are expected to adhere.
Campbell Collaboration - An international social science research network that produces high quality, open and policy-relevant evidence syntheses, plain language summaries and policy briefs. Note: If you submit your protocol to Campbell you are committing to publish your review in Campbell Systematic Reviews.
Search Campbell Title Registrations for a list of all registered titles for systematic reviews or evidence and gap maps that have been accepted by the editor of a Campbell Coordinating Group. When titles progress to the protocol stage, the protocol is published in the Campbell Systematic Reviews journal (see Searching for Studies: A Guide to Information Retrieval for Campbell Systematic Reviews).
Campbell Systematic Reviews: Policies and Guidelines
Methodological Expectations of Campbell Collaboration Intervention Reviews (MECCIR) Download the latest MECCIR conduct standards and MECCIR reporting standards from the Campbell Author Guidelines.
JBI Systematic Review Register Search for systematic reviews that are currently underway. Please note: this register is for the use of JBI affiliated entities ONLY. Registration of a systematic review title on the JBI website is to promote collaboration between affiliated entities via highlighting current work to other JBI review authors and to recognize that the registered topic is currently in development to avoid any unintended and/or unnecessary duplication of research effort.
JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis The JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis is designed to provide authors with a comprehensive guide to conducting JBI systematic reviews. It describes in detail the process of planning, undertaking and writing up a systematic review using JBI methods. See 3.2: Development of a protocol for a systematic review of effectiveness evidence
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