PRISMA 2020 Guidelines Explained

PRISMA 2020 is a reporting guideline that helps authors transparently report systematic reviews: a checklist of 27 items, a 12-item abstract checklist and flow-diagram templates. Its aim is complete reporting, not to define how a review must be done, although following it encourages good conduct.

What the checklist covers

The items are grouped by section: title, abstract, introduction (rationale, objectives), methods (eligibility, information sources, search strategy, selection, data collection, outcomes, risk of bias, effect measures, synthesis, reporting-bias and certainty assessment), results (study selection, characteristics, risk of bias, results of individual studies and syntheses, reporting biases, certainty), discussion, and other information (registration and protocol, support, competing interests, availability of data, code and other materials).

How to use it well

1. Read the PRISMA 2020 paper and its explanation and elaboration document before you start.
2. Use the checklist as a template when writing your protocol.
3. Complete the checklist with page or section numbers as you write the manuscript.
4. Create the flow diagram from your screening log.
5. Submit the checklist if the journal asks.

Extensions

Extensions exist for scoping reviews, searches (PRISMA-S), network meta-analysis and others. Find them on the PRISMA website and the EQUATOR Network.

Illustrative example

Invented for teaching. While completing the checklist, a team notices that they have not reported the date of the last search or the software used for screening. They add these details, which a reader would need to reproduce the review.

What it does not do

PRISMA does not judge the quality of a review; a perfectly reported review can still be poorly conducted.

Common pitfalls

• Treating the checklist as a form to fill after writing.
• Citing PRISMA without actually following it.

Key takeaways

• PRISMA 2020 improves transparency.
• Use the official documents and cite them.

This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.