Every run keeps the exact query, filters, database, date and result count under version control. Every imported file keeps its source database, record count and, if you add it, the query you ran there. These records make the review reproducible and feed the search-strategy appendix.
The two paths
When you enter this stage, the app asks one question: have you already completed your search? It then shows you two cards.
- Path 1 · Build it with me. Start from your question and review revisia's proposal. revisia builds the strategy, searches PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov, and gives you ready-to-use queries for Scopus and Web of Science. You do not need to know what a MeSH heading is.
- Path 2 · Import your search. Export results from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane or another database and import them. revisia removes duplicates and prepares the records for screening. This path suits a strategy you already have, often one reviewed by an information specialist.
Both paths produce the same thing: a deduplicated corpus and the Criteria stage. You can switch paths until screening starts.
Path 1 · Build it with me
The starting query
Choosing this path starts the proposal automatically. The app reads your question, extracts its concepts and writes a PubMed query. You will first see “Preparing a proposal from your question…” and then “Extracting the concepts…”. When it finishes, “Your search” shows the syntax with each concept in a different colour; “Search by” summarises the concepts included.
You can edit the query or replace it with your own search expression using MeSH terms, [tiab], AND and OR. Nothing runs automatically. The search only starts when you launch it.
Population and intervention enter the query. Comparison and outcome start as “out” on purpose, because many relevant studies do not mention them in the title or abstract. Requiring them loses good studies. If the result set is too broad, each has a “Search this concept too” button.
The concepts it searches
Open “Concepts searched” to see one step per concept. Each contains MeSH headings, the official labels PubMed uses to classify articles, and title-and-abstract terms. Turning a synonym on or off rewrites the query. “Suggest more” proposes synonyms for that concept; “Add a missing concept” creates another.
This controls breadth. More synonyms broaden a search; fewer narrow it. Adding another concept with AND narrows it sharply because every result must mention all concepts.
Databases and filters
- Choose databases. Native search covers PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov. All four are available on Free; OpenAlex allows three searches per review on that plan.
- Use filters carefully. Language, year from, year to, maximum results and study type sit under “Filters”. Any may exclude studies. Study-type filters miss articles the database has not tagged yet.
- Inspect each translation. “How this is translated for each selected database” shows the exact query, including PubMed MeSH headings and fields. If you wrote in Spanish, PubMed receives English and the translation is recorded.
- Read warnings. If a MeSH heading does not exist in the catalogue, the app tells you. It retrieves nothing and narrows the search; inside an AND block it can reduce results to zero.
Estimate, test and run
- Select “Run estimate”. It reports how many records each database would return with your filters, without executing or consuming anything.
- Request alternatives with “Suggest queries (AI)”. Each alternative has a reason and estimate. Your current query remains unchanged.
- Test known studies. Paste the DOI, PMID or title of two or three studies that must appear. Before running, revisia says whether the query finds them. Passing is a minimum, not proof of complete recall.
- Run it. The button names how many databases will be searched. revisia downloads results, shows live progress and merges records found in more than one source.
- Let every database finish. If a batch is interrupted, active databases continue. Rerunning the whole search duplicates records; rerun only failed sources.
Every run appears, versioned, under “Saved strategies”. If you also use Scopus, Web of Science or Embase, the optional next stage, Add more studies, accepts those exports.
Path 2 · Import your search
This path has no AI proposal or query editor. Stage 2 becomes the import screen and the separate Add more studies stage disappears from the rail.
- Export from each database. The screen includes instructions: PubMed, “Send to → Citation manager (.nbib)”; Web of Science, “Export → Plain text file → Full record”, at most 1,000 records per file; Scopus, RIS or CSV with abstract; Embase and Cochrane, RIS; Zotero and EndNote, the collection as RIS.
- Drop all files together. Upload several files from several sources: RIS, BibTeX, CSV, PubMed .nbib, Web of Science .txt and WHO ICTRP XML, up to 5 MB each. revisia detects and groups sources. Three Web of Science files count as one Web of Science search.
- Confirm the source when needed. If a file does not identify its database, choose one or select “Other methods”. That choice later appears in PRISMA.
- Record each database search. Under “Your search”, add the exact query, platform, date, limits and result count. This is optional but PRISMA-S asks for it and it feeds the appendix. Entering the source count lets revisia check whether the files match: “✓ Matches” or, for example, “340 missing”.
- Select “Import N files”. Files run one after another and keep their source. The summary reports imported records, cross-database duplicates, records beyond the plan and the screening total. The drop area remains available for missing batches or later updates, and only new records enter.
Cross-database duplicates are removed automatically and every merge enters the audit log. The plan's article limit is cumulative: records removed from a project still count. If the import is too large, revisia warns you before importing.
Switch paths
The top of the stage shows the selected path and either “Switch to importing my search” or “Switch to building it with me”. Switching deletes nothing. Completed searches and imported files stay in the corpus. Only the screen and stage-3 label change. The link disappears when screening begins, because changing the corpus after judgements have been made would break the method.
If you get stuck
- I cannot see the two cards. They only appear before you choose. Afterwards, the stage opens on your path; use the link at the top to switch.
- The search returns zero. Check language and year filters. Try “All languages”; PubMed queries are usually in English.
- I wrote the query in Spanish. revisia translates it for PubMed and records the exact query used.
- There are too many results. Turn off vague synonyms under “Concepts searched”, or add the outcome with “Search this concept too”.
- A Web of Science file fails. Export “Plain text file → Full record”. The old UTF-16 tab-delimited format is unsupported; export plain text or RIS.
- I am missing Latin American or Iberian literature. Search SciELO, LILACS or Dialnet on their sites and import RIS, BibTeX or CSV through path 2 or Add more studies.
- I reached the search limit. The maximum is 50 searches in 24 hours. Saved searches are unaffected.