Quick Start Guide

🚀 From Research Question to Manuscript: Your Express Path Through SystematicReviewTools.app

Welcome to SystematicReviewTools.app, your comprehensive platform for conducting efficient, rigorous systematic literature reviews. This quick start guide will help you navigate our Next.js-powered platform and leverage our suite of specialized tools to streamline your review process.

💡 Pro Tip: Before diving in, ensure you have a clear research question and well-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria to guide your review.

📋 Prerequisites: The Foundation of Your Review

Every successful systematic review starts with solid groundwork:

1. Research Question: Formulate a specific, answerable question using frameworks like PICO or SPIDER
2. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: Define clear parameters for study selection
3. Review Protocol: Consider registering your protocol before proceeding

If you need help with these foundational elements, our Introduction to Systematic Reviews provides comprehensive guidance.

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🔐 Getting Started: Account Setup

1. Create Your Account: Sign up using Google, GitHub, or email authentication
2. Verify Email: Confirm your account through the verification link
3. Complete Profile: Add your research interests and team information
4. Create a Project: Name your review project and select the review type

🧰 Essential Tools in Your Systematic Review Arsenal

SystematicReviewTools.app offers specialized tools designed to streamline your systematic review workflow:

1️⃣ Planning & Protocol Development

• Protocol Builder: Create structured review protocols aligned with PRISMA guidelines
• PRISMA Checklist: Resources to help you plan and structure your systematic review from start to finish.

Learn more in our detailed guide to Writing Review Protocols.

2️⃣ Search Strategy Development

• Search Strategy Builder: Construct complex Boolean search strings with our intuitive visual interface
• Search Translator: Automatically adapt your search strategies across different databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, etc.)
• Search Block Library: Access a curated collection of pre-built search blocks for common topics and methodologies

For advanced search techniques, see our guide on Automating Literature Searches and Grey Literature Searching.

3️⃣ Study Management & Screening

• Deduplication Tool: Automatically identify and remove duplicate records from multiple database searches
• Screening Tool: Streamline your systematic review screening process with our intuitive interface for efficient study selection and categorization

Discover efficient screening approaches in our Screening Strategies post.

4️⃣ Data Extraction & Evidence Tables

• Evidence Table Builder: Automatically compile extracted data into structured, filterable tables for easy comparison across studies

Explore our comprehensive guide on Data Extraction Techniques for best practices.

5️⃣ Quality Assessment & Analysis

• Quality Assessment Tools: Evaluate the methodological quality and risk of bias in your included studies with standardized assessment instruments
• Data Analysis Suite: Analyze extracted data with statistical tools, generate visualizations, and prepare for synthesis

Learn more about evaluation methods in our Quality Assessment and Heterogeneity Assessment guides.

6️⃣ Manuscript Preparation

• Manuscript Outline Generator: Create a structured skeleton for your systematic review paper that follows reporting guidelines.

Check our PRISMA Reporting Guidelines for comprehensive reporting standards.

🔄 Workflow Example: Using Our Core Tools

Here's how to use our tools in a typical systematic review workflow:

Step 1: Build Your Search Strategy

1. Navigate to the Search Strategy Builder from your project dashboard
2. Create search blocks for different concepts in your research question
3. Combine blocks using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
4. Preview and refine your search string for optimal results

Step 2: Translate Across Databases

1. Open your completed search in the Search Translator
2. Select target databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, etc.)
3. Review the automatically translated syntax for each database
4. Make any necessary adjustments for database-specific features
5. Export the translated searches for execution

Step 3: Enhance with Search Block Library

1. Access the Search Block Library from the search builder interface
2. Browse categories relevant to your review topic
3. Import pre-validated search blocks into your strategy
4. Customize imported blocks to match your specific needs
5. Save your customized blocks for future reviews

Step 4: Manage Search Results

1. Execute your searches in each database
2. Download the results in compatible formats (.RIS, .CSV, etc.)
3. Upload all search results to the Deduplication Tool
4. Run the deduplication process to identify overlapping records
5. Review the deduplication report and confirm merged records
6. Export your deduplicated dataset for screening

Step 5: Screen Studies

1. Import your deduplicated results into the Screening Tool
2. Apply your inclusion/exclusion criteria to each study
3. Use keyboard shortcuts for faster screening
4. Track your progress with the built-in dashboard
5. Export your included studies for data extraction

Step 6: Build Evidence Tables

1. Extract consistent data points from each included study
2. Generate comprehensive Evidence Tables from your extracted data
3. Review and refine the evidence tables for completeness

Step 7: Assess Quality & Analyze Results

1. Use the Quality Assessment Tools to evaluate study quality
2. Assign risk of bias ratings to each included study
3. Import your evidence tables into the Data Analysis Suite
4. Generate visualizations and conduct statistical analyses as appropriate
5. Interpret patterns and relationships in your synthesized data

Step 8: Draft Your Manuscript

1. Generate a structured outline with the Manuscript Outline Generator
2. Create your PRISMA flow diagram
3. Fill in each section of your manuscript following the generated outline
4. Incorporate evidence tables, quality assessments, and analysis results
5. Review your completed manuscript against reporting guidelines

📚 Learning Resources

To master these tools, check out these additional resources:

• Platform Overview: Comprehensive tour of all features
• Systematic Review Best Practices: Methodological guidance
• Data Extraction Techniques: Next steps after screening
• Meta-Analysis Guide: Statistical synthesis methods

🎯 Next Steps

Ready to transform your systematic review process? Create your account and start your first project today. Our step-by-step guidance will help you navigate each phase of your review with confidence and precision.