The UCSF Library has acquired an institutional license to Covidence, a web-based tool for managing and standardizing systematic reviews. This software complements the support provided by UCSF librarians and helps researchers screen their references, conduct data extraction, and organize their work. It is particularly useful for meta-analysis or clinical guidelines. The software’s user-friendly interface and features can reduce the time researchers spend on reviews.
Key features in Covidence
- Import references – Covidence works seamlessly with reference managers like EndNote, Zotero, RefWorks, Mendeley or tools that support RIS, CSV or PubMed XML formats and can remove duplicates.
- Screen title and abstract – Screen quickly with keyword highlighting and a quick interface.
- Bulk PDF import – Transfer PDFs stored in your reference manager to Covidence.
- Screen full text – Decide quickly on studies in full text. Capture reasons for exclusion and any notes so you can resolve any disagreements quickly.
- Create forms – Stay focused on your population, intervention, control, and outcomes (PICO) question. Customizable extraction forms mean you only spend time accessing the content you need.
- Customize risk of bias – Automatically populate your risk of bias tables by highlighting and commenting directly in your PDF.
- Conduct data extraction – Extract data efficiently with a side-by-side view of your customized form and PDF. When you are done, easily compare your form with other reviewers.
- Export – Covidence exports data content to all common formats (via csv) so you can continue reviewing via your preferred software.
- Collaborate – You can invite other reviewers from around the world (including external colleagues) to work with you on a project.
As institutional members, UCSF scholars can create unlimited reviews, collaborate with colleagues across UCSF or other institutions, and more!
Access the UCSF Library Covidence institutional license
You can create an account with Covidence before or after joining the institutional subscription. To request access to the license, you must use your current UCSF email address (@ucsf.edu).
- Go to https://app.covidence.org/organizations/akBx5/signup
- Enter your information (using your @ucsf.edu email address) and click the “Request Invitation” link.
- Accept the invitation in your email and check your spam folder if the invitation doesn’t arrive in a few minutes. Please keep in mind that the invitation link is for one-time use and will expire in ~30 days.
- Log in to your existing Covidence account or sign up for a new account, which will automatically link you to UCSF Library.
- If you have already joined the UCSF Library Covidence account, you can log in with your email and password.
Get help
For questions about systematic reviews or Covidence, please visit the Covidence Help Center article or the Systematic Review Research Guide.
Feature image courtesy of Polina Zimmerman via Pexels.