Systematic Reviews

Screening Articles in Systematic Reviews

Screening is a critical step in the systematic review process, where citations are evaluated for relevance based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. It typically occurs in two phases:

1. Title and Abstract Screening – Reviewers assess whether articles appear relevant at a glance.
2. Full-Text Screening – Selected articles are reviewed in full to confirm eligibility.
3. Obtain article pdfs for full-text screening via interlibrary loan from Carpenter Library.
4. Load pdfs of articles into Covidence. (Note: Carpenter librarians often do this for review teams)

To reduce bias, screening should be conducted by at least two independent reviewers, with disagreements resolved by consensus or a third reviewer. Using an odd number of reviewers can help streamline conflict resolution.

Screening with Covidence

Covidence simplifies and structures the screening process:

• Import citations from reference managers (e.g., EndNote, Zotero)
• De-duplicate records automatically
• Assign reviewers for blinded screening
• Track decisions and reasons for exclusion
• Resolve conflicts with built-in adjudication tools
• Progress seamlessly from abstract to full-text screening

Covidence also generates a PRISMA flow diagram based on screening activity, which can be exported for publication.