When copying references is useful
Copying references lets you transfer article data from one review to another without re-uploading files. This is useful when you want to:
- Start a new review using only the included articles from a previous one
- Split a large review into smaller, more focused sub-reviews
- Reuse a set of references across related projects without duplicating manual work
- Start a follow-up review from a filtered subset of an existing one
What gets copied — and what doesn’t
When you copy references, Rayyan transfers only the original article data:
| What is copied | What is NOT copied |
|---|---|
| Title | Include / Exclude / Maybe decisions |
| Authors | Labels |
| Abstract | Exclusion reasons |
| Year | User notes |
| Journal / Source | Full-text PDFs |
| DOI and other identifiers |
Important Screening decisions, labels, exclusion reasons, notes, and full-text PDFs are not transferred. The copied references appear as unscreened in the target review, regardless of their status in the source review.
How to copy references
- Open the source review — the one containing the references you want to copy
- Go to the Screening page
- If you want to copy only a subset, use the Filters panel to filter by inclusion status or other criteria. To copy all references, skip this step
- Click the Review Settings icon (the ellipsis …) in the top toolbar
- Select Copy
- Choose whether to copy All References or Filtered references
- Select a target review from your active reviews — you must be either the Owner or have Collaborator role access
- Click Copy to confirm
Best practice Before copying, use the Filters panel to confirm exactly which references are included in your selection. Applying a filter for “Included” articles lets you start a new review with only the references that passed your first screening round — without any manual re-selection.
Note You can create a new target review directly from the Copy panel without leaving the workflow — it does not need to exist beforehand.
Copy options — filtered vs all references
- Filtered — copies only the references currently shown based on your active filters. If no filter is active, this copies all references.
- All References — copies every reference in the review regardless of filters.
Note Copied references appear as unscreened in the target review. Free and Essential plans are limited to 3 active reviews — if you need to copy into a new review, make sure you have an available slot or upgrade your plan.
Continue to: How to Detect and Resolve Duplicates in Rayyan