Rayyan

Rayyan is a web-based software platform designed to assist researchers with the screening phase of systematic reviews. It provides collaborative tools that help teams select studies efficiently, reduce bias, and document decisions throughout the review process. The system supports blinded screening, allowing reviewers to assess records without seeing each other’s decisions, and facilitates the reconciliation of disagreements through tagging, notes, and inclusion or exclusion decisions.

Key features include deduplication of imported records, labeling and filtering to apply screening criteria, and the ability to import bibliographic records from databases and reference managers while exporting screening decisions to common formats for documentation and analysis. Rayyan emphasizes transparency and reproducibility by maintaining an auditable decision history and enabling filters that track reviewer actions.

Rayyan is used primarily in health and social sciences but is applicable to any field conducting systematic literature reviews. Access is provided through web browsers and mobile apps, supporting collaboration across geographically distributed teams. The platform is widely adopted by universities, research institutes, and clinical organizations seeking to streamline study selection and improve consistency in screening decisions.

In the broader landscape of systematic review tools, Rayyan is noted for its focus on collaborative, blinded screening and ease of use, contributing to its popularity among researchers who conduct rapid or large-scale literature reviews. It complements other stages of review by organizing the screening workflow in a centralized, auditable environment.