Library Guides: Scoping Reviews for Health Sciences and Medicine: Developing a protocol

Protocols

The development of a protocol is one of the first steps in the process of writing up good qualiity scoping review.

The protocol entails the methodology of how the review will be conducted as well as its scope. It also works as a planning document to assist with allocating resources, time and overall planning. Once registered with an agency, it also announces the intention of the review to be undertaken to the wider research community. Transparency is made evident by outlining the process that will be undertaken.

Elements of a Scoping Review Protocol

A scoping review protocol commonly consists of the following components (however not necessarily all):

Introduction/background
- Establishes what is known and a quick summary of the current literature and the aims of the review
The review question
Summary of current literature
Eligibility criteria (inclusion and exclusion)
Methods
- The search strategy
  - Resources to be searched
  - Keywords to be used
- Screening and selecting
  - Tools used for the process
  - Who will be involved in screening process
  - Criteria to be implemented during this process
- Quality assessment
  - How/if you plan to assess the quality of the included studies (note quality assessment is not mandated Scoping Reviews)
- Data Extraction
  - Tool/s used for data extraction
  - Who will be involved in the extraction process
- Data Analysis/Synthesis and Presentation
  - The format of the analysis
    - Tabular, meta-analysis or meta-synthesis for example.
- Time frame
  - How long is expected to complete the review
  - A Gantt chart can assist in keeping to timeframes

Scoping Protocol resources

PRISMA ScR Protocol and Registration Tip Sheet

Tools

JBI Evidence Synthesis Template

JBI have put together a Scoping Review template which can be downloaded and edited using MS Word.
Available from https://jbi.global/scoping-review-network/resources

Example of JBI Template below

Prisma Extension Scoping Reviews Checklist

Access the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and explanation (2018), fillable version of the checklist, and tip sheets

PRISMA for Scoping Reviews webpage

Other helpful resources

JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis - Chapter 11: Scoping reviews (2020 version)

Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil, H. Chapter 11: Scoping Reviews (2020 version). In: Aromataris E, Munn Z (Editors). JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis, JBI, 2020. Available from https://synthesismanual.jbi.global. This chapter provides a comprehensive explanation, discussion and recommendations for conducting scoping reviews.

Best practice guidance and reporting items for the development of scoping review protocols

Peters, M. D. J., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Khalil, H., Larsen, P., Marnie, C., Pollock, D., Tricco, A. C., & Munn, Z. (2021). JBI Evidence Synthesis. https://doi.org/10.11124/jbies-21-00242

Protocol Registration

It's not compulsory to register a Scoping Review protocol, however it is recommended by some organisations to develop an a priori protocol.

You can register a protocol via the websites below.

Registration of Scoping Review

Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/)

Figshare ( https://figshare.com/)

Some protocols are published in journals such as the JBI Evidence Synthesis.

Resources

JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis - Chapter 11: Scoping reviews (2020 version)
This chapter provides a comprehensive explanation, discussion and recommendations for conducting scoping reviews.

Peters, M. D., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Khalil, H., Larsen, P., Marnie, C., ... & Munn, Z. (2022). Best practice guidance and reporting items for the development of scoping review protocols. JBI evidence synthesis, 20(4), 953-968. Full Text

PRISMA for Scoping Reviews webpage

Access the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and explanation (2018), fillable version of the checklist, and tip sheets