What tools can I use for screening articles?
There are many tools that can be useful for organizing the screening process including Covidence, Rayyan, Abstrackr, and HAWC.
UNC currently has an institutional subscription to Covidence making it available for free to UNC-affiliated users. HSL can provide classes and support for Covidence. To learn more visit the Covidence LibGuide. HSL does not currently offer in-house support for other screening tools; however, links to training materials are provided directly below.
All of these tools support reference importing of multiple file types (.ris & txt), in-/excluding references, exporting results, and tagging with keywords. Additionally, they are all web-based and therefore can be used on a mac or pc. They cannot assist with protocol development or automated searching. The chart below provides more details to help you compare and choose a screening tool.
| Feature: | Covidence | Rayyan | Abstrackr | HAWC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | UNC has a subscription to Covidence | Free | Free | Free |
| Support available at UNC HSL | Yes | No | No | No |
| Quality Assessment | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Data Extraction | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Allows Multiple User Support | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Reference Allocation | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Multiple Screening Phases | Yes | No | No | No |
| Discrepancy Resolving | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Show Project Progress | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Attaching Comments | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Attaching PDFs | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Keyword Highlighting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Deduplication | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| PRISMA Diagram | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Interrater Reliability | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile Friendly Version | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Export Results File Types | RIS, CSV, TXT | RIS, BibTex, CSV, EndNote | RIS, CSV, XML | XLSX |
If the tools above don't meet your needs, you can also try this Excel tool called the VonVille Method.
Information about screening tools and features:Van der Mierden, S., Tsaioun, K., Bleich, A., & Leenaars, C. H. C. (2019). Software tools for literature screening in systematic reviews in biomedical research. ALTEX : Alternativen zu Tierexperimenten, 36(3), 508-517.
Click here to view the screening tool feature definitions.
Quality Assessment: The tool supports risk of bias and quality assessment.
Data Extraction: The tool supports data extraction.
Allows Multiple User Support: It is possible for two or more users to work on the same project at the same time, without seeing how others have voted.
Reference Allocation: It is possible to assign references to reviewers.
Discrepancy Resolving: There is official support for resolving conflict between reviewers.
Show Project Progress: the tool can display the progress of each reviewer and the overall project.
Attaching Comments: It is possible to add comments to a reference while screening.
Attaching PDFs: It is possible to upload PDFs for full-text screening.
Keyword Highlighting: It is possible to to display highlighted keywords during screening.
Deduplication: The tool will identify and remove duplicate citations.
PRISMA Diagram: The tool can automatically generate a PRISMA flow diagram.
Import Multiple file Types: It is possible to import formatted references and the tool supports multiple file types.
Interrater Reliability: The tool can calculate and display interrater reliability.
Mobile Friendly Version: It is possible to screen on a mobile device.
Export Results File Types: References can be exported from the screening tool into the listed file types.
Links & Files
- Covidence: UNC Sign Up Opens in new window
- HSL's Covidence guide (UNC) Opens in new window
- Rayyan: Create An Account Opens in new window
- Rayyan for Systematic Reviews (McGill University) Opens in new window
- Abstrackr: Create An Account Opens in new window
- Introduction to Abstrakr Video (Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health) Opens in new window
- HAWC: Log in or sign up Opens in new window
- HAWC Resources and Tutorials (HAWC) Opens in new window