Illustrative best-practice case study

Keep a systematic review’s decisions traceable

A hypothetical review team needs to reconcile search exports, reviewer decisions and the final flow diagram.

Researchers examining material together
Research in focus · Illustrative imagery

01

Starting situation

Searches have been exported from several sources. Screening decisions are scattered across files, and the draft flow diagram does not reconcile with the team’s saved records. This example illustrates a best-practice process and reports no client outcome.

02

Best-practice intervention

  1. Review the protocol and use methods appropriate to the review type, drawing on the Cochrane Handbook where relevant.
  2. Preserve the original search exports, search dates and strategies. Keep deduplication decisions traceable.
  3. Pilot the eligibility rules and configure reviewer roles and disagreement handling in Rayyan or another suitable screening system.
  4. Retain full-text exclusion reasons and link extraction records to the included studies.
  5. Use the applicable PRISMA reporting guidance checklist and reconcile the flow diagram against the actual records.

03

Illustrative handover

The handover contains a protocol and amendment log, search archive, screening export, exclusion reasons and a reconciled report. A colleague can follow a record from import through inclusion or exclusion. This record supports scrutiny but does not, by itself, establish that the search is complete or that risk of bias has been handled correctly.

04

How to assess the workflow

Review unresolved conflicts, verify that counts reconcile and sample the links from the screening record to extraction and manuscript claims. Record any unresolved methodological issue separately from clerical corrections. A librarian or methods specialist may need to review the search or synthesis.

05

Apply it to your project

Use the systematic-review workflow to plan the records from the start. A team needing a focused methodological review can define an engagement through systematic review support. Agree what is being reviewed and which decisions remain with the review authors.

06

Sources and tools

  • Cochrane Handbook — Consult methodological guidance for intervention reviews.
  • PRISMA reporting guidance — Find the reporting checklist and extension appropriate to the review.
  • Rayyan — Organise review screening and record reviewer decisions.

07

Continue with your research

External resources reviewed 22 October 2026. Check the current instructions for the selected journal, tool or institution before acting. These links identify independent resources and do not imply an affiliation with or endorsement by their providers.