Uploading References
References are the studies that form the basis of your systematic literature review. You import them by uploading files exported from literature databases such as PubMed, Embase, or Web of Science. ActiveSLR parses these files and creates individual study records for screening.
Supported formats
ActiveSLR accepts two file formats:
- RIS (
.ris) - the standard interchange format supported by nearly all reference management software and literature databases - NBIB (
.nbib) - the PubMed/MEDLINE native export format
If your database supports both formats, prefer RIS. It is more universally supported and tends to carry richer metadata (abstract, keywords, author affiliations).
Uploading a file
Open the Files page
In the project-level sidebar, click Files. This shows all files previously uploaded to the project.
Click Upload
Click the Upload File button. A file picker dialog opens.
Select your file
Choose a .ris or .nbib file from your computer. You can upload one file at a time.
Wait for parsing
ActiveSLR processes the file and creates individual study records. For large files (thousands of references), this may take a minute. The file status updates to Processed when complete.
What happens after upload
When a file is successfully processed:
- Each reference in the file becomes a study record in your project.
- Studies carry their original metadata: title, abstract, authors, journal, year, DOI, and any other fields present in the file.
- ActiveSLR computes a hash of each study record to support deduplication - identical references uploaded from different files are identified as duplicates.
Studies are not available for screening until you have run deduplication. Running deduplication is the required step between uploading files and starting the screening phase.
Managing uploaded files
On the Files page you can:
- View the list of studies in any uploaded file by clicking the file name
- Download the original uploaded file
- Delete a file - this also removes all study records that were created from it, as long as those studies have not yet been screened
Deleting a file that contains studies which have already been screened is not permitted. Archive your project data before removing files if you need to restructure your reference set.
Uploading multiple files
You can upload files from multiple database searches into the same project. ActiveSLR combines all studies into a single pool for deduplication and screening. This is the recommended approach - run all your database searches, export the results, and upload each file before running deduplication.