Covidence: Preparing Your References for Covidence

Open Endnote Desktop and select the references you want to import into Covidence.

Go to the File menu and select Export.

Enter a name for your file and select XML as a file type. Note that Covidence will only accept XML files if they are created by Endnote. Then select Export Selected References at the bottom.

In the dropdown menu next to Output style, select Show All Fields.

Click Save. Your citations will download.

Gather all your references into one folder.

Click the dropdown box on the top left of the screen, and select All References. You should see that the check box next to each reference on the page is now checked.

Click on the copy/move/export icon on the top of the screen, which looks like a door with an arrow pointing out.

Select Export as…

Enter a file name and select RIS from the file type dropdown menu. Click Download file.

Your references will download.

To export your citations from Zotero, open the desired library. Then select File and Export Library...

Next select the RIS format. This format is the most compatible with all the other citation managers, so it's best to use this format. Select OK and select where you want to save the file. The Desktop is often the best place to save this file, so that you do not forget where you saved it. Like so:

If you have built a collection of notes to accompany the citations in your Zotero library, then you will want to export the Notes as well.

Now your Zotero library is ready to be imported into Covidence.

Select the references you want to import into Covidence.

Click Export at the bottom of the screen, and select RIS.

NOTE: You need to create an account in Embase and log in in order to export citations.

Once you have completed your search in Embase, select the number of results you want to export.

Select the Export button from the menu above the results.  Select the RIS file type and click Export. 

You will also need to click Download once the file is ready.  Then you are ready to import your citations into Covidence.

In our EBSCO databases, there are two ways to export articles.  If you only have a few hundred results, you may want to use our instructions For Smaller Sets of Results.  If you have several hundred or thousands of results, you will want to use our instructions For Larger Sets of Results at the bottom of this box.

For Smaller Sets of Results

Run your search exactly as you want it.  You will need an RIS file from CINAHL to import into Covidence. Depending on the number of results, you can save articles two ways.  Either way you will first go to the Share menu on the right side of the results column.

If it is a small number of results, you can add them to the folder in bunches.  If you click on Page Options and change the Results per page to 50, you can send 50 at a time to the folder. 

To add results to the folder, click Share, and select Results.

Once they are in the folder, click Folder View in the column to the right of the results.  

On the next screen, choose Direct Export in RIS Format in the right column. Then click Save in the left column.

For Larger Sets of Results

 If you have a large number of results, go to the bottom of the Share menu and select Email a link to download exported results.

Select the RIS format in the right column.  Enter your email, and in a few minutes, you should receive your file from ephost@ebsco.com.