Reviewer Pools
In double-screening projects, reviewers are divided into two independent pools. Each pool screens the same set of studies without seeing the other pool's decisions. This independence is what makes double screening reliable - neither reviewer is influenced by the other's choices until the reconciliation step.
Reviewer pools apply only to double-screening projects. If your project uses single screening, this page does not apply.
How pools work
- Pool 1 and Pool 2 each contain one or more reviewers
- Every study is screened independently by one reviewer from each pool
- Decisions from Pool 1 and Pool 2 are kept separate until reconciliation
- Where both pools agree, the decision is auto-reconciled
- Where the pools disagree, the study enters the reconciliation queue
This means you need at least one active reviewer in each pool. If a pool is empty, studies cannot receive decisions for that pool and the reconciliation step cannot proceed.
Opening reviewer pool settings
Navigate to Project Management > Reviewer Pools in the project sidebar.
Assigning reviewers to pools
To add a reviewer to a pool:
Click Add to Pool 1 or Add to Pool 2
Click the Add button in the pool column you want to assign to. A search panel opens showing all project members who have the Screener role.
Select the reviewer
Search by name or email. Click Add next to the reviewer you want to assign.
Confirm the assignment
The reviewer's name appears in the pool column. They will now receive studies from that pool's screening queue.
A reviewer can only be in one pool. If you try to add someone who is already in Pool 1 to Pool 2, you will be prompted to move them. Moving a reviewer mid-screening reassigns their future work but does not retroactively change decisions already made.
Multiple reviewers per pool
You can have multiple reviewers in the same pool. If Pool 1 has three reviewers, studies are distributed among them so each reviewer handles a portion of the queue. Studies are still screened once per pool regardless of how many reviewers are in it.
Distribute the workload evenly across pools. If Pool 1 has three reviewers and Pool 2 has one, the single Pool 2 reviewer will have to screen all studies while the Pool 1 reviewers share the load. Aim for comparable capacity in each pool.
Removing a reviewer from a pool
Click the remove icon next to a reviewer's name to remove them from the pool. Any studies already assigned to that reviewer in the queue remain with them unless you manually reassign the work.
Pool assignments and the reconciler role
The reconciler is assigned separately from the pool structure. A project member can be in a pool as a screener and also hold the reconciler role - for example, the project lead screens as part of Pool 1 and also handles reconciliation.
Checking pool balance before starting screening
Before you launch screening, verify that both pools are populated. An unbalanced or empty pool will delay the review. The project settings page shows a warning if either pool has no reviewers when you attempt to start screening.