Definition · Plain-language
Covidence
Covidence is a web-based software platform designed to manage and streamline the workflow of systematic reviews, from initial screening to data extraction.
The step most authors miss
Doing CRediT right? Don’t stop at the statement.
A CRediT statement credits you inside one paper. The recognition CRediT was built for happens when those roles are tied to you, persistently. Sign in with your ORCID — free — and claim your CRediT contributions on casrai.org, the home of the standard. They become a verified, portable part of your identity, not a line that disappears into one PDF.
Free: claim your contributions, then export a journal-ready CRediT statement, schema.org structured data, JATS XML, CSV or BibTeX — and preview your public profile. A membership publishes that profile publicly and verifies the journals you serve.
Streamlining Title and Abstract Screening
The first phase of a systematic review involves screening thousands of search results. Covidence facilitates this process by allowing two reviewers to independently vote yes, no, or maybe on each citation's title and abstract. The software automatically hides the other reviewer's vote to prevent bias. If a conflict occurs, a third reviewer can resolve it within the platform. This double-blind screening workflow is essential for maintaining research integrity and meeting strict methodological standards. By automating the distribution of citations and tracking reviewer decisions, Covidence reduces the administrative burden on research teams, allowing them to focus on the qualitative assessment of the literature.
Full-Text Review and Conflict Resolution
Once initial screening is complete, Covidence manages the acquisition and screening of full-text articles. Reviewers upload PDF copies of the selected papers, and the team evaluates them against pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The software tracks the reasons for exclusion, which is essential for generating the PRISMA flow diagram required for publication. This structured approach ensures that the decision-making process is transparent and reproducible. The platform highlights discrepancies between reviewers, facilitating targeted discussions to resolve conflicts. By documenting every step of the full-text selection process, Covidence helps researchers build a robust and auditable methodology for their systematic reviews, ensuring all research is fully compliant.
Data Extraction and Quality Assessment
Covidence provides customisable templates for extracting data from selected studies, including participant characteristics, interventions, and outcomes. It also includes built-in tools for assessing the risk of bias or quality of the studies, aligning with Cochrane methodologies. The extracted data can then be exported into statistical software for meta-analysis. This integrated data extraction workflow reduces transcription errors and ensures consistency across reviewers. By templating quality assessment, the platform helps researchers identify potential biases in the primary studies, improving the overall reliability of the meta-analytic findings, reducing writing time, and streamlining the preparation of the final review manuscript. This structured methodology ensures that the final published review meets the highest standards of evidence-based academic research.
Key facts
At a glance
- Covidence is a web-based collaboration tool designed specifically for systematic reviews.
- It is the official partner platform for Cochrane, the global gold standard in evidence reviews.
- The software automates the creation of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow diagrams.
- It supports independent double-blind screening to eliminate selection bias during reviews.
- Extracted data can be exported in formats compatible with RevMan and Excel.
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: Covidence uses AI to conduct the systematic review automatically.
Actually: Covidence is a workflow management utility; it coordinates and organises human decisions but does not perform the screening or extraction itself.
Often heard: Covidence is only useful for medical and clinical research.
Actually: While heavily used in medicine, Covidence is valuable for systematic reviews in social sciences, environmental sciences, and engineering.
Often heard: You can import and store unlimited citations on a free Covidence account.
Actually: Free accounts are restricted to a single review with a limited number of citations; larger projects require an institutional or individual subscription.
Common questions
FAQ
What is a PRISMA flow diagram in Covidence?+
A PRISMA flow diagram visualises the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. Covidence tracks your screening decisions and automatically generates this chart for your manuscript.
Can Covidence resolve conflicts automatically?+
No. If two reviewers disagree on whether to include a paper, Covidence highlights the conflict. A designated reviewer or team consensus must resolve it manually.
