PROSPERO

PROSPERO, hosted by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, is the world’s leading international database for prospectively registering systematic reviews in health and social care. Built to improve research transparency and reduce duplication, PROSPERO provides a structured platform where review authors publicly document their research questions, methods, and analysis plans before beginning data extraction or synthesis.

Registering a systematic review in PROSPERO helps ensure methodological rigor by preventing post-hoc changes to protocols—an issue that can introduce bias into evidence synthesis. Researchers entering the registry must specify detailed elements such as inclusion criteria, outcomes, search strategies, and analysis frameworks. Once posted, these protocols remain publicly accessible, allowing journals, funders, and readers to track how faithfully a review follows its initial plan.

Beyond its role in improving research integrity, PROSPERO acts as a discovery tool, letting users identify ongoing or planned reviews across thousands of topics. This reduces the risk of unnecessary duplication and helps guide collaborations among researchers working on similar questions. Although its scope is primarily health-related, the platform increasingly includes reviews from psychology, education, and social sciences, reflecting the growing adoption of systematic review methodology across disciplines.

PROSPERO has become a cornerstone of evidence-based practice, serving both as a safeguard for research quality and a resource for global transparency in systematic review work.