It is of the utmost importance to plan a systematic review or similar review project carefully at the very beginning. This can save you a lot of time, effort, and frustration. It will also help greatly when it comes time to publish your results.
Your protocol should include a detailed description of each step you will take throughout the course of your project, from a description of the databases you will use, to any software used for the analysis, reviewer practices, and more. Be sure to refer to the PRISMA-S checkllist when developing your protocol, to ensure that you are conducting the review properly.
After your protocol is completed, consider registering it on PROSPERO. This will let other researchers know you are working on this project, and will help to potentially avoid a duplication of efforts.
