Evidence-appraisal glossary
PRISMA statement
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) is a checklist and flow diagram for reporting how a systematic review was searched, screened, and synthesized.
Also called: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, PRISMA checklist, PRISMA flow diagram.
The PRISMA flow diagram tracks records from the initial database search down to the studies finally included, which lets a reader see how many were excluded and why. Journals often require it for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Like other reporting standards, PRISMA tells you whether the methods were described transparently, not whether the search was actually thorough or the included studies sound.
This is a plain-language methodology definition for reading research. It is general education, not medical advice.