This document provides instructions for using Rayyan, a web-based tool for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. It outlines the key features and functions of Rayyan including how to create a new review project, upload reference sets from reference managers, invite collaborators, start screening references, resolve duplicates, and export results. The summary highlights the main workflow steps in Rayyan for organizing literature screening projects.

1. Working with Rayyan
https://rayyan.qcri.org/

2. Create a new review
If not all collaborators screen the full set of references, it might
be easier to create separate review projects

3. Upload your reference set
Direct export is from databases is often not possible. Use a reference
manager (Zotero, Refworks, Endnote) as intermediate

4. It will take a while for Rayyan to process the reference set
Click on ‘all reviews’ to
go back to the overview

5. Invite collaborators and decide if you’ll need blind screening

6. Go back to the reference set to continue

7. Highlight words to make faster decisions
You can add your own keywords and delete the ones
that don’t fit your topic

8. You can now start screening

9. You can use ‘keywords for exclude’ for bulk elimination
You can select more than one
option at the same time.
Click again on a keyword to
undo a selection
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10. If you come across duplicates, resolve them
1
2

11. When you’re finished, resolve conflicts with two or more collaborators

12. Notes
• Works on tablets and
smartphones
• Screen articles ‘on the go’
• You can also use Rayyan
while offline

13. Screening
• Be aware that there’s a difference between
the screening phase and the critical
assessment phase.
– In Rayyan you can
copy your included
references from
the screening
phase to a new
project
– More tips e.g.
other tools and how to fill out the flow diagram
Screening phase
Critical
assessment

14. Inclusion and exclusion
• For the critical assessment phase it is good
practice to keep track of reasons for inclusion or
exclusion. You do not need to do this for the
screening phase
• You can add include and exclude (with reasons) in
Rayyan
– ‘Reason’ is for Exclude, ‘Label’ is for both
• Another common tool for keeping track of
include/exclude is MS excel

15. Export Results
You can either export to MS Excel (format: CSV) or Zotero (format:
refman or endnote)