Customized tags help you label studies so you can easily find and filter them during screening and extraction. Use tags for things like study type, topic, or progress.
How to apply a tag
Select the checkbox next to each study you want to tag, then click the navy Tag button in the toolbar. The button shows how many studies the tag will be applied to.
Any tags you add are visible to all reviewers on the review.
To create a new tag, type in the Search or add new tag field and select + Create tag.
How to manage tags
You can add and manage tags from the Study tags page under Settings.
Here, you’ll see all the tags currently being used in your review. To delete a tag, click the X next to it. Deleting a tag also removes it from every study it’s been applied to.
Note: Tags can’t be edited after they’re created.
'Awaiting classification' and 'Ongoing study tags'
Covidence comes with two tags: Ongoing Study and Awaiting Classification. These tags can’t be deleted and have special properties in the PRISMA flowchart.
Ongoing Study references are counted in PRISMA when they’re in the Extraction stage.
Awaiting Classification references are counted in PRISMA when they’re in Title and Abstract Screening.
Learn more about the PRISMA flowchart.
Viewing and using your tags
Once you’ve created and applied tags, you can filter your studies by tag. This is useful for finding a group of studies or quickly checking how many studies have a particular tag.
The tag filter only counts studies in your current list. For example, when you’re viewing Title and Abstract Screening, the filter only includes studies in that list and won’t include studies on the irrelevant list.
Tags are also included when you export your references to Excel or CSV.
Note: Tags aren’t included when using reference management formats.
Ways to use tags
Tags are free-text, so you can use them for anything you want to find or filter later. Here are some common ways to use them:
Organize studies by topic
Label studies by their subject, such as a population, condition, intervention, or other topic.
Examples: mental health, cancer, diabetes, COVID-19, children, pregnancy
Label the type of study or reference
Use tags to identify study designs or publication types so you can filter to the evidence you’re interested in.
Examples: RCT, systematic review, cohort study, qualitative, case report, protocol
Track progress and follow-ups
Use tags to keep track of studies that need attention or follow-up from your team.
Examples: done, extracted, to discuss, read
Gather studies for your write-up
Tag studies that you’ll want to refer to when writing your review, making them easier to find later.
Examples: background, key study, introduction
Assign studies to reviewers for screening and data extraction
Use tags to divide work among your team or identify studies that need a particular reviewer based on their role or area of expertise.
Examples: Team A, reviewer B, needs second reviewer, clinical expertise
Have another clever way your team has used tags? Let us know!