PRISMA 2020 Compliance Checker
Audit systematic review and meta-analysis manuscripts against the PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 27-item checklist.
Workflow
- Read the full manuscript
- Confirm the study is a systematic review and/or meta-analysis
- Walk through each item below, including all sub-items
- For each item, assign: Reported / Partial / Missing / N/A
- Quote the relevant manuscript text as evidence
- Output a compliance summary + actionable fixes for Missing/Partial items
- Check for PRISMA flow diagram (strongly recommended)
PRISMA 2020 Checklist (27 Items)
Title and Abstract
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 1 | Title | Identify the report as a systematic review |
| 2 | Abstract | Structured summary: background, objectives, data sources, eligibility criteria, participants/interventions, appraisal/synthesis methods, results, limitations, conclusions, registration number |
Introduction
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 3 | Rationale | Describe rationale in context of existing knowledge |
| 4 | Objectives | Explicit statement of objectives or questions the review addresses |
Methods
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 5 | Eligibility criteria | Inclusion/exclusion criteria and how studies were grouped for syntheses |
| 6 | Information sources | All databases, registers, websites, organisations, reference lists searched; date of last search for each |
| 7 | Search strategy | Full search strategies for all databases, including filters and limits |
| 8 | Selection process | Methods to decide inclusion: number of reviewers per record, independence, automation tools |
| 9 | Data collection process | Methods to collect data: number of reviewers, independence, processes for confirming with investigators, automation tools |
| 10a | Data items — outcomes | List and define all outcomes sought; whether all compatible results per domain were sought |
| 10b | Data items — other variables | List all other variables sought (participant/intervention characteristics, funding); assumptions about missing/unclear data |
| 11 | Risk of bias assessment | Methods to assess risk of bias: tool(s) used, number of reviewers, independence, automation |
| 12 | Effect measures | Effect measure(s) for each outcome (risk ratio, mean difference, etc.) |
| 13a | Synthesis — eligibility | Processes to decide which studies eligible for each synthesis |
| 13b | Synthesis — data preparation | Methods to prepare data for synthesis (handling missing statistics, conversions) |
| 13c | Synthesis — display | Methods to tabulate or visually display results |
| 13d | Synthesis — statistical methods | Methods to synthesise results with rationale; if meta-analysis: model(s), heterogeneity methods, software |
| 13e | Synthesis — heterogeneity | Methods to explore causes of heterogeneity (subgroup analysis, meta-regression) |
| 13f | Synthesis — sensitivity | Sensitivity analyses to assess robustness |
| 14 | Reporting bias assessment | Methods to assess risk of bias from missing results (reporting biases) |
| 15 | Certainty assessment | Methods to assess certainty in the body of evidence (e.g., GRADE) |
Results
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 16a | Study selection | Results of search and selection, ideally with a PRISMA flow diagram |
| 16b | Study selection | Cite excluded studies that appeared to meet criteria; explain why excluded |
| 17 | Study characteristics | Cite each included study and present its characteristics |
| 18 | Risk of bias in studies | Present risk of bias assessments for each study |
| 19 | Individual study results | For all outcomes: summary statistics per group, effect estimate with precision (CI), structured tables or forest plots |
| 20a | Synthesis results | Briefly summarise characteristics and risk of bias among contributing studies |
| 20b | Synthesis results | All statistical syntheses: summary estimates with CI, heterogeneity measures, direction of effect |
| 20c | Synthesis results | Investigations of heterogeneity causes |
| 20d | Synthesis results | Sensitivity analysis results |
| 21 | Reporting biases | Risk of bias from missing results for each synthesis |
| 22 | Certainty of evidence | Certainty assessments for each outcome |
Discussion
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 23a | Discussion | General interpretation in context of other evidence |
| 23b | Discussion | Limitations of the evidence |
| 23c | Discussion | Limitations of the review processes |
| 23d | Discussion | Implications for practice, policy, and future research |
Other Information
| # | Topic | Requirement |
|---|
| 24a | Registration | Registration name and number, or state not registered |
| 24b | Protocol | Where protocol can be accessed, or state not prepared |
| 24c | Protocol amendments | Describe and explain amendments to registration or protocol |
| 25 | Support | Financial/non-financial support; role of funders/sponsors |
| 26 | Competing interests | Declare competing interests of review authors |
| 27 | Data/code availability | Report availability of: data collection forms, extracted data, analytic code, other materials |
Critical PRISMA Elements
These are the items journals most commonly reject manuscripts for missing:
| Must-Have | Why |
|---|
| Flow diagram (16a) | Most journals will not review without one |
| Full search strategy (7) | Reproducibility requirement; include as appendix if long |
| PROSPERO registration (24a) | Increasingly mandatory; register before data extraction |
| Risk of bias table (18) | Required for credibility; use RoB 2 or NOS as appropriate |
| GRADE or certainty (15, 22) | Expected by top-tier journals |
Common PRISMA Gaps
| Frequently Missing | Fix |
|---|
| Item 7 (Full search strategy) | Append complete search strings for each database |
| Item 8 (Selection process detail) | State number of reviewers, kappa/agreement, screening tool |
| Item 13d (Heterogeneity methods) | Specify I-squared thresholds, random/fixed-effects model choice |
| Item 14 (Reporting bias) | Add funnel plot + Egger's test or trim-and-fill |
| Item 16b (Excluded studies) | List near-misses with exclusion reasons |
| Item 24a (Registration) | Register on PROSPERO; if post-hoc, disclose it |
Output Format
PRISMA 2020 Compliance Report
Manuscript: [filename]
Summary: X/27 Reported | Y Partial | Z Missing | W N/A
CRITICAL MISSING (journal will likely reject):
[Item #] [Topic] — [What's needed]
OTHER MISSING:
[Item #] [Topic] — [What's needed]
PARTIAL ITEMS:
[Item #] [Topic] — [What's present] → [What's missing]
Flow diagram: [Present / Missing]
Registration: [Registered (ID) / Not registered / Not stated]
Related Skills
/manuscript — Overall manuscript writing and anti-pattern scanning/meta-manuscript-assembly — Assemble tables, figures, references for meta-analyses
