Those conducting the screening process must have access to a citation management system for the entirety of the review. It is also recommended to utilize a citation management system that will be accessible to screeners after the review, since reviews are often updated. There are two stages to the screening process, as identified in the PRISMA flow diagram.
This is where after database records have been weeded of duplicates (i.e. deduplication), 2-3 reviewers will screen the records. Reviewers will examine titles and abstracts only to minimize the risk of various biases, such as publication bias.
During the secondary screening process, reviewers will identify which studies are eligible for the review. This is the stage where the entire article is examined to determine its eligibility. Critical details are examined, such as whether the populations in the studies meet age or gender criteria; if the pre-specified dose for the intended intervention meets the inclusion criteria; and whatever else was predefined in the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
There are critical appraisal checklists freely available to evaluate resources at this stage:
There are also resources for evaluating bias in studies that are freely available:
EndNote
is a reference management tool which helps you to save and manage bibliographic references. Neither the SPH nor the TMC Library supports EndNote, however, we recognize that a number of our users have an EndNote account. In order for EndNote to work properly with TMC Library Resources, users must include ezproxyhost.library.tmc.edu as the OpenID.
For a tutorial on EndNote basics check out this tutorial from the TMC Library below!
RefWorks is a Web-based research management, writing, and collaboration tool designed to help researchers at all levels easily gather, organize, store, and share all types of information and to instantly generate citations and bibliographies. See our Refworks Libguides for instructions and tutorials.