Lisa S Whiting looks at the steps necessary to create a review protocol for appraising literature

Systematic reviews are a thorough and efficient method of appraising literature and providing an evidence base for practice. However, to ensure that they are undertaken in a structured and comprehensive manner, it is crucial that a systematic review protocol is first formulated. While resources such as the Cochrane Collaboration provide extensive and valuable information in relation to the issues that should be considered, there is little immediately available in the nursing literature.