Systematic Reviews: Screening & Extraction

Endnote at Stirling

With EndNote, you can: import references directly from literature databases; organise and manage references; and format bibliographies and manuscripts.

Most screening and extraction tools require a subscription although one or two have a free version. The University does not have a subscription to any tool although some individual researchers or research groups may have their own licence.

• Covidence
  • Subscription service (free to those conducting a Cochrane Review)
  • You can register for a free trial that gives you a full-featured version for up to 500 records of your own data
  • Can import citations, facilitate screening titles, abstracts and full-text, populate risk of bias tables, assist with data extraction, and export to common formats

• Rayyan
  • Free version allows 3 active reviews at a time. You can screen abstracts, upload full-text and export decisions. Pricing for full version at: https://www.rayyan.ai/pricing/
  • Rated 4.5 out of 5 in a 2017 paper in Research Synthesis Methods https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28374510
  • Quick tour video at: https://www.youtube.com/embed/irAOQgzFMs4 or use the Rayyan Help Center
  • Also get great functionality on the Rayyan app (Download it now from the App Store or Google Play!)

• Abstrackr
  • From Brown University, free, open-source software 
  • Semi-automated abstract screening for systematic reviews
  • Upload your abstracts (from Endnote or other Reference Managers, invite reviewers and get screening

• EPPI-Reviewer
  • Subscription service
  • Ssoftware for all types of literature review, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, 'narrative' reviews and meta-ethnographies

• Systematic Review Data Repository Plus (SRDR+)
  • Free tool for extraction and management of data for systematic review or meta-analysis
  • It is also an open and searchable archive of systematic reviews and their data
     
• LASER AI
  • Subscription Service
  • AI-powered processes to aid screening, full text retrieval, data extraction and reporting. Can integrate with other tools via APIs, import controlled vocabularies, and export data in variety of formats.

Screening can be very time consuming.  This journal article: Best practice guidelines for abstract screening large-evidence systematic reviews and meta-analyses(link opens in new window) suggests some best practice processes to follow when screening for a systematic review.