You can explore tools listed in the Systematic Review Toolbox, this is an online catalogue of tools that support various tasks within the systematic review and wider evidence synthesis process it was launched in 2014 and updated in 2022.
How to cite: Marshall, C., Sutton, A., O'Keefe, H., Johnson, E. (Eds.). (2022). The Systematic Review Toolbox. Available from: http://www.systematicreviewtools.com/
You will need to record how many database results your search retrieves in total, for all searches, and then remove the duplicates, and record these numbers for your PRISMA flow diagram. We would recommend that you export your database results as ris files, .ris is a file type that reference managers and other software can read. For further information about .ris files please see this Wikipedia entry.
Reference management software, like EndNote, can help you remove the duplicate records, you can screen the results within EndNote, or export a tab delimited file into an Excel spreadsheet, or export the remaining references into an online screening tool.
However, you might decide to remove this step completely and import your .ris files directly into a screening tool, which will also help you manage your duplicates, please see screening tools below or explore the Systematic Review Toolbox for other options.
Some of the screening tools have an AI element to reduce the screening burden and there are other tools that will help with constructing and running a search.
For responsible use of AI please see, Thomas J, Flemyng E, Noel-Storr, A. et al. Responsible AI in Evidence Synthesis (RAISE): guidance and recommendations (version 2; updated 3 June 2025). In: Open Science Framework [https://osf.io/], Washington DC: Center for Open Science. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/FWAUD (accessed 11 August 2025).
For guidance on evaluating AI search tools, consider the Evaluation Instrument in Canadian Journal of Health Technologies. Development of an Evaluation Instrument on Artificial Intelligence Search Tools for Evidence Synthesis. Canadian Journal of Health Technologies [Internet]. 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.51731/cjht.2024.1004 (accessed 14 August 2025).
Some questions to consider when evaluating AI products:
There are a growing number of tools to help you with the screening process and some tools enable you to manage the complete review process, the benefits are, you can collaborate with colleagues regardless of institution or geographic location; further details below.
| Covidence | Covidence is a subscription resource, it is used by the Cochrane Collaboration for Cochrane Library Reviews, you can complete all stages of the review. |
| EPPI-Reviewer | EPPI-Reviewer allows trial access for a month for a non-shareable review, then a subcription is required. |
| HubMeta | HubMeta has moved to a subscription model, it has integrated AI tools, it covers all stages of the review process. |
| Rayyan | Rayyan offers a free option, the subscription version has greater functionality, mainly for the screening process, you can remove your duplicates. |
| TERA | TERA replaces the SR-Accelerator, it offers a free option, the subscription version has greater functionality. It has tools to assist with all stages of the review, including creating the protocol and removing duplicates; there are YouTube training videos on the homepage when you are logged in. |
Somes tools to assist with the risk of bias of your included papers, are available at https://www.riskofbias.info/
Also see, Higgins JPT, Savović J, Page MJ, Elbers RG, Sterne JAC. Chapter 8: Assessing risk of bias in a randomized trial [last updated October 2019]. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.5. Cochrane, 2024. Available from https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-08
If you are new to the critical appraisal process, the following resources are a good place to start, the Understanding Health Research: A tool for making sense of health studies, along with these excellent eBooks:
To help you think about racial bias in research please explore Ramona Naicker's website Critically Appraising for Antiracism and the excellent learning object Critically appraising for antiracism: recognising racial bias in research.
