Mapping literature reviews on coral health: Protocol for a review map, critical appraisal and bibliometric analysis

The health of coral reef ecosystems is declining. As research examining this decline has grown, review articles (secondary literature) have emerged. Secondary literature can include narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and bibliometric analyses. Synthesizing secondary literature can influence research directions, as syntheses visualize both the current state of knowledge and trends in research. Therefore, we propose to use the combination of bibliometric mapping and systematic mapping techniques to synthesize the secondary literature on coral health and coral reef decline.We will examine secondary literature on coral health published in peer-reviewed journals and indexed in Scopus or Web of Science databases. After screening the title, abstract, and keywords of each paper, we will extract information that encompasses the type and purpose of the review, the identified factors affecting coral health, and the health-related outcomes on coral reefs. We will also conduct a critical appraisal using the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence Synthesis Assessment Tool (CEESAT) criteria for papers that are self-reported to be systematic reviews. We will also extract bibliometric data to identify author affiliations, collaboration networks, and journals. We will communicate our results from systematic and bibliometric mapping using visualizations and tabulations.Our systematic map aims to reveal gaps and clusters of topics in review articles on coral health. These findings can guide future research into coral health in both primary and secondary literature. Our critical appraisal will evaluate the robustness of systematic reviews, informing researchers on how to identify and conduct high-quality reviews. Our bibliometric map will uncover the extent and connectivity of researchers synthesizing evidence on coral health, highlighting the diversity (or lack thereof) of those engaging in coral health research.