To register a systematic review a member of the review team completes an online registration. To do this they must have signed up for and be logged in to a PROSPERO account. They enter key information about the review design and methods along with information about the review team, funder and timelines.
A PROSPERO record is not considered a full protocol. A PDF of the full protocol may be uploaded as part of the registration record.
During the registration process, the PROSPERO system uses the information provided to identify any similar reviews that have previously been registered. If similar reviews are found, and the person registering the current review decides to continue with their registration, they are asked to provide the reasons why their new review is needed (although this is not mandatory). The reasons provided (including none) become part of the registration record.
The PROSPERO system carries out some automated checking when data are entered to each field and may require additional information to be supplied. When data entry is complete, a named guarantor (usually the senior member of the review team) must approve the content of the record. All named review team members must confirm their participation and consent to their name and email being published in the publicly available PROSPERO record. Once these confirmations are completed a registration number is assigned and the registration record is published immediately on the PROSPERO site. There is no delay to publication.
The content of the record may be amended after registration if changes become necessary. A dated audit trail of amendments is stored and becomes part of the registration record. Prior versions are also retained and remain publicly available.
The review team is asked to update the registration record when the review is completed and to include citation details when it is published. Automated emails are sent out as reminders to do this.
PROSPERO does not check record content (beyond built-in automatic checks) and does not provide peer review. PROSPERO does not endorse content. A PROSPERO record is not a formal publication.
The live version of PROSPERO should not be used to register reviews produced during student modules or other training projects. Students and others learning how to do a review or how to register a review may instead select the training record option. This lets them use PROSPERO, store their records and share them with supervisors. However, records will not be published in PROSPERO and will not be found in PROSPERO searches. This reduces the burden on decision-makers and others searching PROSPERO for full reviews that aim to publish findings, and saves them from having to sift out multiple training reviews/exercises produced by a class. Incorrectly registered training records cannot be converted into live publishable records and therefore users are encouraged to select the correct template during the registration process. If you decide you want the record to be published on the public site, you will have to create a new record.