LibGuides: Systematic Reviews, Scoping Reviews &amp; Other Evidence Synthesis Projects: Review Software

Citation Management

Citation managers are a necessity during evidence synthesis review projects. Citation managers will allow you to easily save and organize the hundreds and often thousands of citations you will need to go through during your review. There are many citation manager options and they all provide the same basic citation management functions. Some considerations for choosing a citation manager include:

Is there a cost or is it free?
What is the interface like?
Does it have a desktop version or is it online only?
Are there collaboration options?

RefWorks
by Jaena Manson, MSLIS Last Updated May 3, 2024 13 views this year

Zotero
Zotero is a free and open source citation management tool. It allows you to save and organize your citations, as well as collaborate with other Zotero users.
EndNote
Endnote is a citation manager that allows you to save and organize citations, as well as collaborate with other EndNote users. EndNote is not a free resource.

Project & Screening Software

There is software that can help you move through the review process. Just like citation management software, some cost money and some are free. Some are more robust and provide multiple review functions. These software are worth looking into to see if it can help you and your team move through the project more efficiently. The Boxer Library does not subscribe to any review software.

DistillerSR
Paid subscription tool. A robust software that can handle many stages of the review process including title/abstract screening, full text screening, duplicate removal, data extraction and more.
Covidence
Covidence is a paid subscription tool that allows you and your team to import references, do title/abstract screening, full text screening, data extraction, and quality assessment.
Abstrackr
FREE tool that can help your team complete a blinded screening process, track project progress and identify team conflicts. Abstrackr has a feature that can semi-automate the screening process using keywords you enter for it to identify.
SysRevs
Paid and Free version. Depending on the version, this software allows you to do screening, track your project, and data extraction. This is an open-source software.
ASReview
Uses machine learning to automate large title/abstract screening. This software is FREE and open.
Rayyan
Rayyan is systematic review software that allows you to work on teams to complete the review process, including blind reviewing of studies. Rayyan has a free option.