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Screening Profiles and Stage Settings

SyRF now supports named screening profiles with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, and three agreement modes that control how individual reviewer decisions are aggregated into a final outcome. A unified stage settings panel replaces scattered configuration options with a single, coherent settings experience per stage.

What is a Screening Profile?

A Screening Profile is a named, reusable configuration that defines the criteria for a screening stage. Instead of a single set of project-wide criteria, you create profiles tailored to each stage of your review pipeline.

For example, a project with two screening stages might have:

  • "Title/Abstract Criteria" -- broad inclusion criteria for initial screening
  • "Full-Text Eligibility" -- detailed criteria for full-text review

Each profile contains the inclusion and exclusion criteria that reviewers apply when deciding whether to include or exclude a study. These criteria become the structured reasons reviewers select when they exclude a study (see Screening Annotations).

Creating a Screening Profile

  1. Navigate to Project Settings > Screening Profiles.
  2. Click Create Profile.
  3. Enter a name for the profile (e.g., "Title/Abstract Screening").
  4. Define your inclusion criteria. These describe what a study must have to be included. Example: "Animal study", "Published 2010-2024", "Measures neurological outcome".
  5. Define your exclusion criteria. These are the reasons a study might be excluded. Example: "Review article", "Not in English", "Wrong population". Each exclusion criterion becomes a selectable reason during screening.
  6. Select an agreement mode (see below).
  7. Optionally add notes for your team -- context about how to apply these criteria.
  8. Click Save.

Agreement Modes

Each screening profile specifies how individual reviewer decisions are aggregated into a final screening outcome. Choose one of three modes:

Single Reviewer

One reviewer's decision is final. When a reviewer includes or excludes a study, that decision becomes the screening outcome immediately.

Best for: Large-scale rapid screening, student projects, or low-risk decisions where dual review is not required.

Dual Manual

Two reviewers screen each study independently. When both agree, the decision is final. When they disagree, the study enters the screening reconciliation pool for a third reviewer to resolve.

Best for: Standard systematic review practice where independent dual screening is required by your protocol.

Dual Automated

Two reviewers screen each study independently. When both agree, the system resolves the outcome automatically (no manual approval needed). When they disagree, the study enters the screening reconciliation pool.

Best for: High-throughput projects with clear, well-defined criteria where automated resolution of agreements saves time.

Mode Reviewers per Study Agreement Handling Disagreement Handling
Single 1 Immediate final decision N/A
Dual Manual 2 Both agree: study resolved Goes to reconciliation
Dual Automated 2 Both agree: auto-resolved Goes to reconciliation

Assigning Profiles to Stages

After creating a screening profile, assign it to one or more stages:

  1. Navigate to a stage's Settings panel.
  2. Under Screening Profile, select the profile you want to use.
  3. Click Save.

A profile can be assigned to multiple stages. For instance, you might use the same "Title/Abstract Criteria" profile on two parallel screening stages for different search batches.

The Immutability Rule

Once a screening profile has been used to screen studies, it cannot be edited. This is a fundamental design principle that protects scientific integrity: every screening decision is traceable to the exact criteria under which it was made.

If you need to change your criteria:

  1. Navigate to the profile you want to modify.
  2. Click Clone Profile. This creates a copy with all the same criteria.
  3. Edit the copy as needed.
  4. Assign the new profile to your stages going forward.

The original profile and all its screening decisions remain intact.

Stage Settings

Each stage has a unified settings panel that brings together all configuration in one place.

Accessing Stage Settings

Navigate to a stage and click Settings. The settings panel shows:

Review Mode

Configure what activities are enabled on this stage:

  • Screening only: Reviewers screen studies (include/exclude)
  • Annotation only: Reviewers annotate studies (answer questions)
  • Screening and Annotation: Both activities are enabled

Study Selection Mode

When both screening and annotation are enabled, this setting controls how they interact:

  • Sequential: Studies are screened first; only included studies proceed to annotation
  • Parallel: Screening and annotation happen simultaneously on the same studies

Policy Settings

  • Minimum annotators: How many people must annotate a study before it is eligible for reconciliation (typically 1 or 2)
  • Maximum concurrent studies: How many studies a reviewer can have in progress simultaneously
  • Reconciliation settings: Whether rationale is required, cross-stage visibility mode

Stage Lifecycle

Toggle the stage between Active and Inactive. When a stage is inactive, reviewers cannot work on it. Reactivating a stage resumes work from where it left off.

All settings take effect immediately for subsequent study selections.