Reporting quality of stepped wedge design randomized trials: a systematic review protocol

Figures & data

Figure 1 The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram for article selection.

Abbreviation: SWD, stepped wedge design.

Table 1 Search strategy of electronic databases

Database	Search terms
MEDLINE Search details = __________	1. “stepped wedge design”[All Fields] OR “stepped wedge”[All Fields] OR “wedge design”[All Fields] OR (stepped[All Fields] OR “experimentally staged introduction”[All Fields] AND wedge[All Fields] AND design[All Fields] AND protocol[All Fields]) OR (stepped[All Fields] AND wedge[All Fields] AND protocol[All Fields]) OR (stepped[All Fields] AND wedge[All Fields] AND design[All Fields] AND (“clinical trials as topic”[MeSH Terms] OR (“clinical”[All Fields] AND “trials”[All Fields] AND “topic”[All Fields]) OR “clinical trials as topic”[All Fields] OR “trial”[All Fields])) OR (wedge[All Fields] AND design[All Fields] AND (“clinical trials as topic”[MeSH Terms] OR (“clinical”[All Fields] AND “trials”[All Fields] AND “topic”[All Fields]) OR “clinical trials as topic”[All Fields] OR “trial”[All Fields])) OR “stepped wedge trial”[All Fields] OR (stepped[All Fields] AND wedge[All Fields] AND design[All Fields] AND abstract[All Fields]) OR (stepped[All Fields] AND wedge[All Fields] AND (“clinical trials as topic”[MeSH Terms] OR (“clinical”[All Fields] AND “trials”[All Fields] AND “topic”[All Fields]) OR “clinical trials as topic”[All Fields] OR “trial”[All Fields]) AND abstract[All Fields]) AND (“1987/01/01”[PDAT] : “3000/12/31”[PDAT])
Web of Science Search = __________	1. TOPIC: (“stepped wedge design” OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge”] OR TOPIC: [“experimentally staged introduction”] OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge design trial”] OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge design protocol”] OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge trial”] OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge protocol”] OR TOPIC: [“stepped wedge design abstract”] OR TOPIC: [“wedge design”] OR TOPIC: [“wedge design trial”] OR TOPIC: [“wedge design protocol”])
	2. Timespan: 1987–2015
	3. Indexes: SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH
CINAHL Search = __________	1. Suggest subject terms: stepped wedge design OR stepped wedge OR experimentally staged introduction OR stepped wedge trial OR stepped wedge proctor OR stepped wedge design trial OR stepped wedge design protocol OR wedge design OR wedge design trial OR wedge design protocol OR stepped wedge design abstract OR wedge design abstract OR stepped wedge abstract
EMBASE (Ovid interface) Search = __________	1. “stepped wedge design” OR “stepped wedge” or “stepped wedge design trial” or “stepped wedge design protocol” or “stepped wedge design abstract” “experimentally staged introduction” or “stepped wedge trial” or “stepped wedge protocol” or “stepped wedge abstract” or “wedge design” or “wedge design trial” or “wedge design protocol” or “wedge design abstract”
	2. Limit to human
	3. Limit to publishing year =1987
PsycINFO (Ovid interface) Search = __________	1. “Stepped wedge design” or “stepped wedge” or “stepped wedge design trial” or “experimentally staged introduction” or “stepped wedge design protocol” or “stepped wedge design abstract” or “stepped wedge trial” or “stepped wedge protocol” or “stepped wedge abstract” or “wedge design” or “wedge design trial” or “wedge design protocol” or “wedge design abstract”
	2. Limit to human
	3. Limit to publishing year =1987