Managing and Screening Your Citations
Citation Management
Why: Citation management software is essential for storing, organizing, searching, and deduplicating the large number of references collected in a systematic review.
What: The two most common freely available citation management software tools are Zotero and Mendeley.
When: Before committing to a tool, you will want to explore the functionality of each to determine which one best suits your needs. And importantly, talk to colleagues in your department to find out if there is a preferred tool.
How: Both of these citation management tools offer useful training documentation on their websites.
Deduplication
Why: Systematic reviews often involve searching multiple databases which can result in duplicate results. Deduplication in the systematic review process is important because it reduces both the time involved in screening duplicate articles and also potential bias in the findings of your review.
What: Deduplication removes duplicate citations and records for articles.
When: Prior to screening.
How: Bibliographic management software
Screening your Search Results
Why: Articles retrieved through the search process need to be screened in order to identify and remove those that are not relevant to the research question. In the screening process, inclusion and exclusion (eligibility) criteria are applied.
What: In the screening phase, two or more researchers independently review article records and apply the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
When: After the deduplication process, records are exported from your citation management software into a screening tool.
How: DePaul does not provide an institutional license for systematic review software but there are a number of tools available for free or personal purchase that streamline the screening process. If your research is funded through a grant and your preference is to use a licensed product, consider factoring this into your grant proposal.
Citation Managers
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