revtools: An R package to support article screening for evidence synthesis

Area of Science:

• * Evidence synthesis and research methodology.
• * Computational tools for scientific research.

Background:

• * The field of evidence synthesis is expanding, necessitating efficient software tools for systematic reviews, systematic maps, and meta-analyses.
• * Current challenges include slow integration of new methods, limited open-source options, and poor interoperability between software tools, hindering research transparency and accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To introduce revtools, an R package designed to facilitate article screening in evidence synthesis projects.
• * To provide an open-source solution that addresses current limitations in evidence synthesis software.

Main Methods:

• * Development of an R package, revtools, offering tools for bibliographic data import and deduplication.
• * Implementation of article screening functionalities based on title or abstract content.
• * Integration of topic modeling for the visualization of article content.

Main Results:

• * revtools is an entirely open-source R package available to the research community.
• * The package offers both command-line scripting for advanced users and user-friendly interfaces for casual users.
• * It provides accessible tools for article screening, data management, and content visualization.

Conclusions:

• * revtools enhances the capacity of R to support evidence synthesis projects by providing accessible, open-source tools.
• * The package promotes transparency and facilitates the integration of novel methods into systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• * It represents a valuable step towards improving the efficiency and utility of evidence synthesis workflows.