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A protocol "reduces the impact of review authors’ biases, promotes transparency of methods and processes, reduces the potential for duplication, allows peer review of the planned methods before they have been completed, and offers an opportunity for the review team to plan resources and logistics" (Lasserson et al., 2021, s. 1.5)
"A protocol is the plan or methodology of the review and is designed so that your methods are protected against the risk of bias, ensures consistency within a review team, and stakes your claim to the topic" (Booth et al., 2022, p. 116). Protocols may vary depending on what type of review you are doing. The protocol is developed at the beginning of the research, and may need to be refined or altered as the review progresses, particularly for scoping reviews. Other types of reviews, such as meta-analyses or systematic reviews, require the protocol to be clearly defined and not changed.