How to set up a Protocol in easySLR?

How to set up a Protocol in easySLR?

Setting up a protocol in EasySLR is simple and user-friendly. A pre-set template is available to guide you, so you don’t have to create everything from scratch. Your protocol defines the study criteria, guiding both human reviewers and AI in screening studies effectively.

Steps to Set Up Your Protocol

1. Download and Customise the Template
  • The sample protocol includes:
    • Objective (Research question)
    • PICOS Table (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study design)
    • Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria (Selection rules for studies)
    • AI Descriptions (Guidance for AI screening)

2. Defining PICOS (Study Selection Criteria)

PICOS helps structure the research question and decide which studies to include.
PICOS​​
Description
Population (P)
Define the patient group, demographics, condition, or disease being studied.
Intervention (I)
Specify the treatment, exposure, or intervention of interest.
Comparison (C)
Identify the control group (e.g., placebo, alternative treatment, no intervention).
Outcome (O)
List the key outcomes measured (e.g., survival rate, quality of life).
Study Design (S)​
Select eligible study types (e.g., RCTs, cohort studies).

Example PICOS Definition
  • P: Adults with lung cancer
  • I: Drug X
  • C: Standard chemotherapy
  • O: Overall survival, progression-free survival
  • S: Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), Cohort studies
3. Setting Up Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria
Organise your selection criteria logically, each exclusion and inclusion criterion ensures that only relevant studies are considered for further analysis:

Include
Articles written in English (or specific languages)
Studies with defined patient populations matching the PICOS
Studies evaluating the intervention(s) of interest
Pre-specified study designs (e.g., RCTs, Cohort studies)
Studies reporting relevant outcomes

Exclude
Non-English articles (if not considered)
Conference abstracts without full text
Studies involving non-human subjects (if not relevant)
Case reports, reviews, opinion pieces (unless needed)
Editorials, letters, or publications outside the date range

4. Writing Clear Descriptions

The AI in EasySLR makes screening suggestions based on the protocol descriptions. Clear instructions help improve accuracy.

Best Practices for Descriptions

Use Clear and Direct Language
✔ "Include studies with adult patients diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes."
✖ "Studies in T2DM adults are fine except for trials with combined metabolic syndrome."

Avoid Subjective Terms
✔ "Exclude studies with sample sizes below 50."
✖ "Studies with a small number of participants should not be included."

5. Finalising & Refining the Protocol
  • Review your protocol and click Save.
  • Any changes made to the Title-Abstract screening protocol will automatically update for Full-Text screening (unless a different protocol is used).
  • Conduct a test run with a small set of studies.
  • If frequent conflicts arise, refine the protocol and adjust AI descriptions.
  • Recalibrate AI decisions after screening 10% of studies for better accuracy.
Refer to the video tutorial for a visual guide.

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