SyRF

What SyRF is

SyRF is a web platform for evidence synthesis and systematic reviews of preclinical research. It is intended for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, with tools for collaboration, tailored project workflows, study screening, annotation, and data extraction, alongside educational resources and guidance. Screening normally uses two independent reviewers and a third reviewer to resolve disagreements. Student projects can use single screening, though the guide advises against it for reviews intended for journal publication. Administrators can create annotation questions for review stages and download studies and associated data, including quantitative data for analysis in software such as R or SAS. Graph data extraction requires both annotation and data extraction to be enabled in a project stage. SyRF accepts deduplicated references in EndNote Desktop XML or CSV; EndNote Web and other software’s XML exports are not compatible. Users can link full-text PDFs, but must provide the files separately for SyRF staff to process and store. Projects may be public or private, and public project names and descriptions are visible to other users. Each project supports one set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. SyRF is free and available online.

Who it suits

SyRF suits researchers conducting systematic reviews or meta-analyses of preclinical studies, including teams that need collaborative workflows and quantitative data exports.

Limits

SyRF is freely available online, with a feature set described as minimum and under continuous development. Each project supports one set of inclusion and exclusion criteria; single screening is available for student projects but is not recommended for journal-publication reviews.

Getting started

1. Visit the SyRF website.
2. Create or join a project and choose whether it will be public or private.
3. Tailor the project workflow and add inclusion and exclusion criteria.
4. Prepare deduplicated references as EndNote Desktop XML or CSV for import.
5. Set screening, annotation, and data extraction stages as needed.
6. Supply full-text PDFs separately if you want them linked and stored.

Verdict

SyRF provides a free, web-based workflow for preclinical evidence synthesis, with collaboration, screening, and data export. Check its criteria and import limits, and provide PDFs separately if needed.