Good review practice: a researcher guide to systematic review methodology in the sciences of food and health

Checklist questionnaire before conduct 

1. Is the question right for the method?  

When identifying a research question to use the systematic review methodology consider the following checklist:

• Is it novel? you can search protocol registration platforms and repositories to check for existing studies (See Appendix A) and run a preliminary search through relevant bibliographic databases and collections for your field. (See Appendix A for food related databases)
• Can it be answered using scientific methods? are there primary studies to use as a standard measure or reference for the ‘internal validity’? (See suitable questions in the supplementary materials)
• Are sufficient resources available for conduct? (See feasibility assessment in the supplementary materials)
• Will the results be useful to others in the field?

2. Have you identified the relevant guidelines for your field of study?

Identify and use the right guidelines for your domain or field of study to keep the conduct consistent with the scientific principles and necessary reporting standards (See Appendix B). Look for the Good Practice points in this guide for help with the standard practices of the method which equally apply across disciplines.

Make your study available by registering a protocol. Please note different levels of detail are required for protocol registration for different domains or fields. If you can register a protocol, make sure you have read the relevant guidelines before structuring the outlines. (See Appendix B for a list of protocol registration platforms)

Academic journals may set different editorial and publication standards for accepting systematic review protocols. Be sure to pick up these requirements for relevant journals ahead of conduct. 

Figure 2

Figure 2  An overview of the systematic review project management workflow summarising key processes for managing data and documenting reviews.