Study selection is typically a multi-stage process in which potentially eligible studies are first identified from screening titles and abstracts then assessed through full-text review. Title/Abstract screening allows reviewers to quickly exclude large a large quantity of articles that are clearly off-topic due to content, study type, language, or other previously determined exclusion criteria. The full-text search is then used to review the full content of all remaining articles to determine validity for inclusion.
Screening tools are used to help organize, manage, and track the large volume of articles that are returned in systematic review searches. It is important to remember that all screening tools used (Covidence, Endnote, etc.) must be cited and described in the review methods.
Often, multiple tools will be used concurrently. For example, citations may be stored in Endnote, but deduplicated and screened via Covidence. Therefore, it's important to document what tools are used and how they are used during the screening process so it can be accurately represented in your methodology.
A deduplication, screening, extraction and risk-of-bias assessment tool.
A citation management tool with a built-in deduplicator
Not being able to access the full text of an article is not an appropriate reason to exclude the article. Request any articles you cannot access through your library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department in order to complete a full-text screening.