Systematic Reviews: Writing a Systematic Review

PRISMA provides lists of items to include in various types of systematic reviews. Many journals require including both the basic checklist and the flow diagram. Peer reviewers also use it to evaluate reviews. PRISMA revamped both the checklist and the flow diagram in March 2021. The new format is called PRISMA 2020.

​PRISMA 2020 Checklist:  a list of items to include in your systematic review. 

PRISMA 2020 Expanded Checklist:  the same list as above but with more details and explanation. 

PRISMA Flow Diagram:  tracks the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. It maps out the number of records identified, included/excluded, and the reasons for exclusions. 

PRISMA-S: a list of items to include in the Methods section describing the literature searching

PRISMA-P: a list of items to include in your protocol

PRISMA-A:  a list of items to include in your structured abstract

PRISMA Harms: for reviews including harm outcomes

PRISMA NMA: for network meta-analyses

PRISMA DTA: for diagnostic test accuracy

PRISMA Scoping: for scoping reviews

PRISMA Searching: for reporting your search strategies

Each journal may have different requirements for systematic reviews. Link to your journal's "Instructions for Authors" to find out. 

EQUATOR Network: (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) allows you to choose the section of the systematic review you're writing and provides links to writing guides on it. 

Reporting Results: an in-depth 55-minute discussion explaining how you should write about the evidence you found in both systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Describes what data you need to include in both narrative and tabular formats.