Importing references and duplicates
References come in by file, by direct search or by pasting text. Deduplication then leaves a single copy of each study.
Accepted formats
| Format | Where it comes from | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RIS | Any database or reference manager (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote). | The most reliable. Keeps DOI, PMID and abstract. |
| EndNote XML | EndNote. | Includes tags and notes. |
| PubMed (.nbib) | PubMed → Save → Format: PubMed. | PubMed’s own format. Carries the PMID, the DOI and full author names. |
| EndNote (.enw) | EndNote and other managers (tagged export). | One reference per block, with %T, %A, %D… tags. |
| PubMed XML | PubMed → Send to → File → XML. | Carries the PMID and the full abstract. |
| BibTeX | Google Scholar, Scopus, LaTeX. | Check the doi field is present. |
| CSV | Spreadsheets. | Columns: title, authors, year, journal, doi, pmid, abstract. Separated by commas or semicolons. |
| Free text (AI) | A bibliography pasted from Word. | The AI splits and interprets each reference. Review the result. |
Import step by step
- Inside the review, go to References → Import.
- Pick the format, upload the file (or paste the text) and set the source (the database it comes from). The source is what shows in the PRISMA diagram.
- Check the preview: each reference has a checkbox and a green mark when it has a DOI or PMID. Untick what you do not want.
- Confirm. The references land in the title/abstract screening phase.
Direct search
From Search (top menu) you can query PubMed, CrossRef, OpenAlex and Europe PMC at once, see each result’s relevance and send them to the review without any file. Searches can be saved and re-run (chapter 14).
Deduplication
References → Duplicates looks for matches in three passes: exact identifiers (DOI, PMID), normalised title and similarity (Jaro-Winkler with authors and year). Each proposed pair is confirmed or dismissed; the reference with more metadata is kept and the other is marked as a duplicate, out of screening but counted in PRISMA.
Tags and local search
In the reference list you can filter by phase, decision, source, tag or text, and apply bulk actions (tag, move phase, export). Tags are free text and serve any classification of your own: "doubtful", "ask the library", "sub-study A".
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