Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis

Covidence

Covidence is Web-based to for managing the review workflow. Tools for screening records, managing full-text articles, and extracting data make the process much less burdensome. Covidence currently is available for Harvard investigators with a hms.harvard.edu, hsdm.harvard.edu, or hsph.harvard.edu email address. To make use of Harvard's institutional account:

1. If you don't already have a Covidence account, sign up for one at:
   https://www.covidence.org/signups/new
   Make sure you use your hms, hsph, or hsdm Harvard email address. Graduate students in programs administered by GSAS and training with HMS, HSDM, or HSPH faculty should contact the Countway Library for additional options.
2. Then associate your account with Harvard's institutional access at:
   https://www.covidence.org/organizations/58RXa/signup
   Use the same address you used in step 1 and follow the instructions in the resulting email.
3. To set up a project, go to your account dashboard page and click the 'Start a new review' button. Make sure you choose "Harvard University Libraries" under "which account" on the project creation page.

Rayyan

Rayyan is an alternative review manager that has a free option. It has ranking and sorting option lacking in Covidence but takes more time to learn. We do not provide support for Rayyan.

Other Review Software Systems

There are a number of tools available to help a team manage the systematic review process. Notable examples include Eppi-Reviewer,  DistillerSR, and PICO Portal. These are subscription-based services but in some cases offer a trial project. Use the Systematic Review Toolbox to explore more options.

Citation Managers

Citation managers like EndNote or Zotero can be used to collect, manage and de-duplicate bibliographic records and full-text documents but are considerable more painful to use than specialized systematic review applications. Of course, they are handy for writing up your report.

Need more, or looking for alternatives? See the SR Toolbox, a searchable database of tools to support systematic reviews and meta-analysis.