Understanding and Utilizing the Auto-Resolver for Duplicates

Rayyan's Auto-Resolver is a semi-automated tool that helps you efficiently manage duplicate references detected in your review. By setting specific criteria, the Auto-Resolver can automatically resolve duplicates that match your parameters, saving you time and effort during the review process.

Note: The Auto-Resolver is a premium feature available only to users with a paid plan.

What is the Auto-Resolver?

The Auto-Resolver is designed to streamline the deduplication process. Rather than manually reviewing and resolving every duplicate reference, you can use the Auto-Resolver to apply a rule or combination of rules that identify and resolve duplicates that meet all specified criteria.

Note: The Auto-Resolver only resolves duplicates that fully meet the selected criteria. Some entries not captured by the deduplication criteria may require manual resolution.

When to Use the Auto-Resolver

Use the Auto-Resolver when:

• You want to quickly eliminate obvious duplicates.

• You’ve reviewed the suggested duplicates and identified patterns (e.g., matching titles, etc.).

• You’re working with a large dataset and want to streamline the deduplication process.

How to Access and Use the Auto-Resolver

1. Navigate to the Review Data Tab: Open your review and go to the "Review Data" tab.

2. Click on "Auto-Resolver": You’ll see the option to launch the Auto-Resolver in the toolbar.

3. Select Deduplication Criteria

Choose from the following exact match criteria:

• Title

• Author

• Journal

• Year

• Pages

• DOI number

• Publication Type

You can combine criteria for more precise deduplication. For example, you could resolve duplicates only if both the Title and Author and Publication Type match.

Additional Criteria:

• Overall Similarity Percentage: Deduplicate based on a similarity threshold (e.g., 95% similarity).

• Imported References: Specify which imported dataset to prioritize when duplicates are detected across different searches.

4. Adjust Advanced Settings

• Text Normalization: Converts text to lowercase and ignores punctuation for consistent comparisons (default: off).

• Articles Customization Protection: Protects any articles with assigned decisions from being accidentally deleted (default: on).

5. Confirm Auto-Resolution

If you’ve selected the Overall Similarity Percentage criteria, confirm to proceed. Once confirmed, all duplicates meeting the criteria will be resolved automatically, with one copy moved to Resolved and the rest to Deleted.

6. Review Remaining Duplicates: Not all duplicates can be resolved automatically. Use the manual tools to resolve the remaining ones based on your judgment.

Tips for Best Results

• Start with stricter criteria (e.g., 100% Overall Similarity) to resolve obvious duplicates.

• Use the Similarity Score to identify near-duplicates.

• Review unresolved pairs and adjust deduplication criteria as needed.

• Manually resolve those that do not conform to your deduplication criteria.

Learn More

For more information, check out our main article on Detecting duplicate references/articles in a review.

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