What PRISMA 2020 is
PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses. It's a reporting guideline. It tells you what to write down so a reader can see why you did the review, how you did it and what you found.
PRISMA 2020 is the current main version. It mainly covers systematic reviews of the effects of interventions, which is most clinical Master's work. Extensions cover other review types, such as scoping reviews.
PRISMA 2020 comes as a set:
- The statement paper. It explains how the guideline was built and presents the 27-item checklist (Page et al., BMJ 2021;372:n71, also published in several other journals).
- The checklist and the expanded checklist. The expanded version spells out what each item and sub-item needs.
- An abstract checklist. Abstracts get their own items.
- Flow diagram templates. There are versions for new and updated reviews.
- The explanation and elaboration paper. The PRISMA site advises reading it alongside the statement. It has worked examples of good reporting.
One thing PRISMA is not: a certificate. Nobody "passes" PRISMA, and there's no official seal. You report against it, and your examiners or editors judge how well you did.
The 27-item checklist, in plain terms
The checklist follows the shape of your write-up: title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and other information such as registration and funding. Each item asks "Did you report this, and where?"
A practical way to use it:
- Download the checklist from the PRISMA website (PDF or Word).
- Open it beside your draft as soon as you write the methods, not the night before submission.
- For each item, write the page or section where you answered it.
- If an item doesn't apply, say so and say why.
Methods items are where most marks go. Name every source and the date you searched it. Give the full search strategy for at least one database. Describe how you screened, how many people screened and how you settled disagreements.
The PRISMA flow diagram
The flow diagram shows how records moved through your review: how many you identified, how many you excluded at each stage and why, and how many you included.
PRISMA 2020 offers four templates. Pick by two questions:
- Is this a new review or an update?
- Did you search only databases and registers, or other sources too (citation chasing, websites, contacting authors)?
Count as you go. Keep a simple log of numbers at every step: records found per source, duplicates removed, records screened, reports sought, reports you couldn't get, reports assessed and exclusions with reasons. If you rebuild the numbers from memory at the end, they rarely add up.
Free official PRISMA tools
You don't need to pay for a PRISMA tool to get started. The PRISMA website links to:
- a Shiny app for completing the checklist, and
- a Shiny app for generating the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram.
The templates are released under a CC BY 4.0 licence, so you can adapt them as long as you cite the source.
Where Systematic Review fits
Systematic Review is a PRISMA 2020-oriented workflow for clinical-research Master's and PhD students. It's built around PRISMA 2020 methods, so the steps it nudges you through line up with what the checklist will later ask you to report.
What Systematic Review has now:
- The PICO question builder (
/app/pico), where you fill in and save a structured question. See the PICO guide. Included in student plans. Join the waitlist to hear when checkout opens. - The AI-use declaration export (
/app/export), which builds a declaration you can copy or download as Markdown and share with your supervisor. Included in student plans. Join the waitlist to hear when checkout opens. - Open-access sources only. No paywalled full text passed off as open.
PRISMA 2020 counts and flow diagram are Coming soon. Until then, keep your own count log and use the official templates above.
Common PRISMA slips
- Reporting one database's numbers and forgetting the others.
- No reasons given for exclusions at the full-report stage.
- Leaving registration (for example, PROSPERO) out of "other information".
- Treating the checklist as a form to fill in at the end.
More slips are in seven avoidable systematic-review mistakes.
FAQ
Is PRISMA a method or a reporting guideline?
A reporting guideline. It tells you what to report. Your methods come from your protocol and handbooks such as Cochrane's.
Is there an official PRISMA flow diagram tool?
Yes. The PRISMA website links to free templates (Word) and a Shiny app that generates the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram.
Do I need PRISMA for a Master's dissertation?
Most clinical programmes expect it for a systematic review. Check your module handbook and ask your supervisor.
Does Systematic Review make the flow diagram for me?
Not yet. PRISMA 2020 counts and flow diagram are Coming soon. Systematic Review currently has the PICO question builder and the AI-use declaration export. Included in student plans. Join the waitlist to hear when checkout opens.
Start with your question. Join the waitlist · Student plans ($28 for 4 months — pending owner decision)