Inclusion criteria

How it is used

Used in literature reviews, systematic reviews, sampling, and protocol writing. It helps define scope and make selection decisions transparent.

Example sentences

1. Our inclusion criteria limited the review to peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2015 and 2024 on teacher feedback.

   Here the term refers to explicit rules used to decide which sources belong in the review and which do not.

2. Before screening abstracts, the team clarified the inclusion criteria so both reviewers would judge borderline studies in the same way.

   In this sentence, the term means shared selection standards that improve consistency and reduce arbitrary decisions.

Common collocations

• define inclusion criteria
• meet the inclusion criteria
• inclusion criteria for studies
• clear inclusion criteria

Related terms

• literature reviewA critical summary of what has already been published on a topic, showing the main ideas, debates and gaps that a new study responds to.
• sampleThe smaller group of people, items or texts selected from a larger population for a study, so that conclusions can be drawn about that population.

More terms: Literature Review

• literature
• research gap
• theoretical framework
• seminal
• synthesize
• draw on
• build on
• primary source
• secondary source
• systematic review
• database
• meta-analysis