PRISMA: Reporting Systematic Reviews
Learn the PRISMA 2020 checklist and flow diagram for systematic reviews and meta-analyses — the most cited reporting guideline in biomedical research.
You'll learn
How the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram and checklist ensure transparent systematic review reporting.
Use this when
You are writing or reviewing a systematic review or meta-analysis.
What PRISMA Is
PRISMA — Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses — is a 27-item checklist updated in 2020. It is the most widely cited reporting guideline in biomedicine. Any systematic review or meta-analysis submitted to a major journal must comply with PRISMA 2020.
The PRISMA Flow Diagram
The flow diagram tracks records through four stages: Identification, Screening, Eligibility, and Included. PRISMA 2020 separates database searches from other sources (grey literature, citation searching, trial registries).
- ●Identification: total records from databases + other sources
- ●Screening: records screened, excluded with reason, reports sought
- ●Eligibility: reports assessed for eligibility, excluded with reason
- ●Included: final studies included in review and/or meta-analysis
Key Reporting Sections
- ●Search strategy: full boolean search string for at least one database as an appendix
- ●Eligibility criteria: explicit PICO criteria (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome)
- ●Risk of bias: tool used (Cochrane RoB 2, ROBINS-I, etc.) and results for each study
- ●Synthesis methods: meta-analysis model (fixed or random effects), heterogeneity assessment (I², Q test)
- ●Certainty of evidence: GRADE assessment if applicable
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Further reading
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