Definition

PRISMA

The reporting standard for systematic reviews — a 27-item checklist and the flow diagram tracking records from identification to inclusion.

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, current version 2020) tells reviewers exactly what a systematic review must disclose: full search strategies, selection process, risk-of-bias assessment, and more. The four-stage flow diagram — identification, screening, eligibility, included — is its most visible artifact.

Most health journals require PRISMA compliance at submission, and other fields increasingly expect it. It standardizes reporting, not conduct — a PRISMA-compliant write-up of a badly done review is still a badly done review.