The PRISMA Flow Diagram versions can be found here: https://www.prisma-statement.org/prisma-2020-flow-diagram.
"The review team should be capable of defining the clinical question and performing the technical aspects of the review. It should be multidisciplinary, with experts in SR methodology, including risk of bias, study design, and data analysis; librarians or information specialists trained in searching bibliographic databases for SRs; and clinical content experts."
In the case that your review is not clinical in nature, there are other methods documents to support these types of publications. Talk to your librarian to find out more. Although some of the first systematic reviews were clinical, systematic reviews do not necessarily need to be focused on clinical topics.
"The research question should be precise so that the review team can structure the other components of the SR. To inform decision making, research questions should focus on the uncertainties that underlie disagreement in practice, and the outcomes and interventions that are of interest to patients and clinicians."
For more help in selecting a viable topic, see the Question Development Frameworks listed on the Searching for Evidence in the Health Professions guide.
"Systematic reviews should build on a protocol that describes the rationale, hypothesis, and planned methods of the review."
"A protocol should be made publicly available at the start of an SR in order to prevent the effects of author bias, allow feedback at an early stage in the SR, and tell readers of the review about protocol changes that occur as the SR develops."
"The overarching objective of the SR search for evidence is to identify all the studies (and all the relevant data from the studies) that may pertain to the research question and analytic framework. The task is a challenging one."
A librarian can help you formulate an effective and documented search strategy for multiple databases.
"Experts agree that using two screeners can reduce error and subjectivity."
The PRISMA Flow Diagram details a two-step screening process:
"There is good empirical evidence that particular features of the design, conduct and analysis of randomized trials lead to bias on average, and that some results of randomized trials are suppressed from dissemination because of their nature."
Types of bias can include:
"The purpose of standards for evidence synthesis and assessment—as in other SR methods—is to set performance expectations and to promote accountability for meeting those expectations without stifling innovation in methods. Thus, the emphasis is not on specifying preferred technical methods, but rather the building blocks that help ensure objectivity, transparency, and scientific rigor."
PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. PRISMA has several extensions, including extensions for protocols, individual patient data, network meta-analyses, and more.
