How to Use Rayyan for Systematic Review Screening

Rayyan is a web-based tool for screening records in systematic and scoping reviews: you import references, screen titles and abstracts (alone or with a team), label decisions and resolve conflicts. Check Rayyan's current plans and documentation, since features and limits change.

Set-up

1. Create a project with a clear name and a description of the review question.
2. Add collaborators and decide roles.
3. Import references from your searches (RIS, CSV or other formats supported) and keep the original export files.
4. Remove duplicates using the tool's detection, and review the suggested duplicates manually.

Screening

• Use blind mode so reviewers cannot see each other's decisions until the stage is complete.
• Mark each record include, exclude or maybe.
• Use labels to record exclusion reasons at full-text stage, and highlighting of keywords to speed up screening, but do not rely on keywords alone.
• Some tools offer ranking by predicted relevance; if you use this, describe it in your methods and do not stop screening early without a pre-specified rule.

Resolving conflicts

When blind mode is turned off, the project shows conflicts. Reviewers discuss them, using the eligibility criteria, and a third reviewer arbitrates if needed.

Exporting

Export decisions and reasons to document counts for the PRISMA flow diagram. Keep a copy of the exports.

Illustrative example

Invented for teaching. Two reviewers screen 2,000 de-duplicated records. After blind screening there are 150 conflicts. They resolve 140 by discussion and refer 10 to a third reviewer. The team exports the results and records counts for the flow diagram.

Common pitfalls

• Not calibrating before full screening.
• Losing the original search exports.
• Failing to record the exclusion reasons.

Key takeaways

• Import, de-duplicate, screen blind, resolve conflicts and export.
• Document features you use, including any ranking.

This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.