# Screen and extract for a systematic review

Use a project library and Views to apply consistent questions to each study.

Use Views to ask the same screening or extraction questions of every file in a project. Keep your protocol and human decisions explicit so you can review how the evidence was selected.

## Prepare the library [#prepare-the-library]

Write inclusion and exclusion criteria before screening. [Find and import the studies](/guides/literature-search), organize them into a folder, and check full-text availability. Use tags to track stages such as awaiting full text, included, or excluded.

## Screen with a view [#screen-with-a-view]

Open the folder and [create a view](/guides/views). Ask for separate columns for the criteria, a proposed decision, and the reason. For example:

```text title="Extraction request"
For each study, extract population, study design, intervention, comparator, and publication year. Propose Include, Exclude, or Unclear against the criteria below. Give the reason and supporting passages. Use Unclear when the available text is insufficient.
```

Review the supporting evidence in each row and record the final decision. Do not treat an AI screening result as an independently completed human review.

## Extract from included studies [#extract-from-included-studies]

Create columns for the fields your protocol needs, such as sample size, outcomes, time points, effect estimates, uncertainty, and limitations. For PICO, keep population, intervention, comparator, and outcome in separate columns. Ask for "not reported" rather than an inferred value.

Inspect **Source evidence** for important cells. Keep units and follow-up periods explicit before comparing studies. Use a [spreadsheet](/guides/spreadsheets) for calculations and analysis once the extracted values have been checked.

Views support this workflow but do not by themselves establish that a search is exhaustive or a review meets a reporting standard.