Rapid review planning template: Initial decisions, involving stakeholders, and methods decisions for streamlining and acceleration

Rapid reviews are a type of evidence synthesis research study, which emphasizes stakeholder involvement and an accelerated timeline. They are especially advantageous for newly developing research topics or technologies to provide stakeholders with relevant, up-to-date information for decision-making support. In the scientific community, specified rapid reviews may serve as a more systematic alternative to a narrative review with a restricted focus offering context-sensitivity. Considering these benefits, the emergence of this method for educational research is likely to expand in the coming years. This planning template tool was developed to support educational researchers interested in performing a rapid review so that they could benefit from a tool informed by research literature for rapid review study planning. Three objectives guided the design of this template: (1) facilitating methodological transparency; (2) facilitating methodological flexibility for the educational context; and (3) facilitating strategic plans for stakeholder involvement. Topics and options were compiled from 46 articles on rapid review methods, processes, and recommendations to offer a tool informed by research literature. It includes guiding questions structured into three sections: (1) preliminary study planning, (2) the integration of stakeholders, and (3) various options for accelerating and/or streamlining methodological processes across all stages of the review. It is suggested to use this planning template to promote rapid review team discussions, decision making, and study protocol development.