The Filters panel is available in the Screening and Full-text screening stages. Click Filters in the top bar to open or close it. Each filter you apply narrows your reference list in real time.
Within a single facet, multiple selections use OR logic — results match any of the selected terms. Across multiple facets, selections use AND logic — results must match all conditions simultaneously.
How to use and manage facets
Most facets are inactive by default — click Enable filter inside the facet to activate it. Facets only show data when the relevant metadata exists in your imported references. Use the search icon at the top of the Filters panel to find a specific facet quickly.
Click Clear in the active filters bar to remove a filter condition without deleting any data. Click Show more at the bottom of a facet to see additional terms beyond the default view.
Filter by Inclusion
Use the Filter by Inclusion dropdown — next to the article list — to filter references by their current screening status.
| Option | What it shows |
|---|---|
| All Articles | All references in the review, regardless of decision status |
| Undecided | References with no decisions from any team member — this is the default view |
| Maybe | References with at least one Maybe decision from any team member |
| Included | References where all team members agreed on Include |
| Excluded | References where all team members agreed on Exclude |
| Conflict | References with opposing Include/Exclude decisions — only visible when Blind Mode is off |
Min and Max member Decisions filters
These filters let you find references based on how many decisions have been made by your team — useful in collaborative reviews with Blind Mode on, where you cannot see your collaborators’ decisions directly.
| Filter | Option | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Min member Decisions | At least N — scales with the number of members in the review | References with that many or more Include/Exclude decisions |
| Max member Decisions | At most N — scales with the number of members in the review | References with that many or fewer Include/Exclude decisions |
Keywords for Include and Exclude
Keyword filters highlight matching terms across reference fields — including the title, abstract, and publication type — during screening, making it faster to spot relevant content without reading every word.
Rayyan pre-populates the Keywords for Include and Keywords for Exclude lists based on a study by Mahmić-Kaknjo (2015) that identified terms strongly associated with Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and Controlled Clinical Trials (CCTs). The same study found that screening with keyword highlighting takes roughly half the time compared to screening without it. The pre-loaded list is a starting point — you can customize it for your review topic.
Reference: Mahmić-Kaknjo (2015). DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3078.3600
To add keywords, open the Filters panel, find the Keywords for Include or Keywords for Exclude facet, click the + icon next to the facet title, enter your terms separated by commas, and click Add. To remove keywords, select them using the checkboxes in the facet and click the trash icon, then confirm.
Search
The search bar at the top of the article list lets you find references by any text field — including title, abstract, ID, authors, journal name, or any other metadata. Type your search term and the list updates in real time to show matching references. Search works alongside active filters — results reflect both your search term and any filters currently applied.
Sort
Use the sort control next to the article list to change the order references are displayed. Sorting does not remove any references — it only changes the order in which they appear.
| Sort by | Sort order options |
|---|---|
| Rating | Most likely to include / Most likely to exclude |
| Author | A–Z / Z–A |
| Date | Newest first / Oldest first |
| Title | A–Z / Z–A |
All available filter facets
Most facets require clicking Enable filter to activate and only show data when the relevant metadata exists in your imported references.
| Facet | What it filters | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords for Include | References containing include keywords (highlighted across reference fields) | Always visible — pre-populated by default |
| Keywords for Exclude | References containing exclude keywords (highlighted across reference fields) | Always visible — pre-populated by default |
| Min / Max member Decisions | References by number of Include/Exclude decisions made | Always visible — options scale with the number of members in the review |
| Labels | References with a specific label, including AI Reviewer-generated labels | Shows when at least one label exists |
| Exclusion Reasons | References with a specific exclusion reason | Shows when at least one reason exists |
| Search Methods | Source of imported references (e.g., Pubmed.csv, Embase.ris) | Shows when references have been imported |
| PICO Population / Intervention / Outcome | PICO terms detected by Rayyan’s AI | Advanced and Institutional plans only — must be extracted first; click PICO in the toolbar or Extract PICO inside the facet to activate |
| Ratings | AI-computed relevance rating | Advanced and Institutional plans only — ratings must be computed first; requires Enable filter |
| Sampled Data | References belonging to a specific data sample | All plans; Free and Essential limited to 1 sample per review — a sample must be created first; requires Enable filter |
| Full Text PDF | References by PDF attachment status: Attached or Not attached | Requires Enable filter |
| Publication Types | Type of publication (e.g., RCT, review, case report) | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Topics | Topics detected by Rayyan’s NLP and ML algorithms | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Journals | Journal name of the reference | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Authors | Author names | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Years | Publication year | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Abstract Language | Language of the abstract | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
| Main Language | Primary language of the article | Requires Enable filter; shows when metadata available |
Continue to: How to Set Up Full-Text Screening in Rayyan
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