How to Set Up for a Scoping Review Like a Pro: A Lean, Efficient, No Nonsense Approach

Why Preparation is Everything

There’s a saying that goes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” As a PhD candidate, practicing clinician, business owner, parent, leader, and someone who is just trying to get this dissertation done, I don’t have time for inefficiencies. Every minute counts.

My background in Lean Six Sigma and project management has taught me that upfront preparation is the key to reducing wasted time, avoiding rework, and streamlining processes. The same principle applies to a scoping review. There’s plenty of guidance on how to structure your protocol but almost nothing on how to set yourself up so you can execute it efficiently.

This is my gift to you. Take some time now to clean your desk, clear your mind, organize your folders, and set up your systems so that when it’s time to do the work, you can just get it done. Oh, if you can find a good Spotify playlist (have you heard of Piano Guys?), noise-cancelling earphones and a warm beverage, that helps too!

Step 1: Set Up a Reference Management System (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote—Whatever Works for You)

A reference manager is non-negotiable. I use Zotero because it’s free, flexible, and integrates well with cloud storage. If your team uses Mendeley, EndNote, or another system, apply these steps to whatever works best for you.

Organizing Your Reference Manager

1. Create a dedicated library for your scoping review

   • Example: Mental Health Disabilities Scoping Review

2. Set up subfolders

   • Search Strategies

   • Articles to Screen

   • Included Studies

   • Excluded Studies (with reasons)

   • Data Extraction

3. Decide how to handle PDFs

   • If you want to save space, don’t store PDFs in Zotero. Instead, link them to a OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox folder.

4. Enable duplicate detection

   • In Zotero: Go to Preferences > General > Enable Duplicate Detection

Connecting Zotero to Cloud Storage (Optional but Highly Recommended)

I don’t store PDFs in Zotero to avoid maxing out storage. Instead, I link PDFs stored in OneDrive. If you prefer Google Drive, Dropbox, or a local hard drive, the process is the same.

1. Create a folder in OneDrive (or whatever cloud service you use)

   • Example: ScopingReview_PDFs

   • Inside it, create subfolders like Full-Text PDFs and Grey Literature

2. In Zotero, go to Preferences > Advanced > Files and Folders

3. Set Base Directory to your OneDrive folder. This prevents broken links if you move files.

4. Manually link PDFs instead of storing them in Zotero

   • Right-click an entry > Add Attachment > Attach Link to File

Step 2: Set Up Your Cloud Storage and Folder System

Whether you use OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox, you need a clear folder structure to keep everything organized.

Here’s how I set mine up:

• Scoping Review Project (Main folder)

  • Search Strategies (Save all database searches here)

  • Screening

    • Title & Abstract Screening

    • Full-Text Screening

  • Included Studies

  • Excluded Studies (With Reasons)

  • Data Extraction

  • PRISMA Documentation

Everything has a place. No scrambling later. (Yes I know you can use the Find feature, but it’s just a lot easier to not have to go looking in the first place.)

Step 3: Develop and Save Your Search Strategies

Keeping track of your search strategies is essential for reproducibility and transparency. I store all of mine in a single document, noting:

• Date of search

• Databases searched (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, etc.)

• Search terms and Boolean operators used

• Number of results before and after deduplication

If you’re using Covidence or Rayyan for screening, export your searches into these tools and document what was imported.

Step 4: Plan for Screening Efficiency

Screening is one of the most time-consuming parts of a scoping review. Setting up an efficient workflow before you start will save hours later.

Choosing a Screening Tool

• Covidence (Great for systematic reviews, integrates with Zotero)

• Rayyan (Free, AI-assisted screening)

• Excel or Google Sheets (If you prefer manual tracking - which I do as I set up pivot-tables and charts to do both extraction and analysis at the same time.)

Set Up Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria in Advance

• Clearly define what will be included and excluded based on your research question.

• Pilot test the criteria with a small batch of articles to ensure consistency.

Track Excluded Studies

You will need to report how many studies were excluded and why. I create a simple Excel sheet with:

Study Title | Author | Year | Reason for Exclusion |

Example 1: Smith 2022 Not within age range

Step 5: Data Extraction: Make It Systematic

Once you have your included studies, you need a structured way to extract data. As mentioned, I use Excel or Google Sheets, but NVivo is also an option if you’re doing qualitative analysis. There are also lots of other options that are available and of course AI. I am not making any recommendations here, just that it’s good to figure this out and talk with your team about the pros and cons in advance.

Set Up Your Data Extraction Template

By setting this up early (and you should given you set your protocol before starting your review), but having this you avoid having to go back through documents because you forgot what data/details you were looking for.

Step 6: Set Up PRISMA Documentation

The PRISMA flow diagram tracks the number of studies:

• Identified

• Screened

• Included

• Excluded (with reasons)

Use an Excel sheet or Covidence to log each stage. Tools like the PRISMA Flow Diagram Generator can auto-create the flowchart once you input your numbers.

Image of a PRISMA Diagram taken from https://estech.shinyapps.io/prisma_flowdiagram/

Step 7: Writing the Manuscript Without Delays

By this point, everything is organized, so writing should be straightforward.

Pre-Writing Key Sections

• Introduction – Adapt from your protocol

• Methods – Copy search details, screening process, and inclusion criteria

• Results – Pull from data extraction table and PRISMA diagram

• Discussion – Identify gaps and summarize findings

Use Zotero (or Your Reference Manager) to Handle Citations

1. Install the Zotero Plugin for Microsoft Word

2. Click "Add Citation" while writing

3. Click "Add Bibliography" to generate the full reference list

No manual formatting. No missed citations.

Final Thoughts: A No Going-Back-and-Forth Approach

Everything here is about eliminating inefficiencies so you don’t waste time retracing steps.

• Predefine every decision – Don’t wait until you’re deep in the process. Talk to your team/coresearchers/supervisors—you don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s okay! But as they say, measure twice, cut once.

• Use automated tools where possible – Covidence for screening, PRISMA generator for documentation (shinyapps.io - download their CSV file first though!), Zotero for citations.

• Keep documentation up to date – No scrambling at the end for missing information.

A scoping review is already a massive undertaking. Taking a few extra hours upfront to set yourself up properly will save weeks of frustration later.

This is my gift to you: a streamlined, efficient system to help you focus on the science instead of the chaos.

Now, clean your desk, set up your systems, and get started.

PS great resource for your PRISMA Flow Diagram: https://estech.shinyapps.io/prisma_flowdiagram/

PRISMA - SCR checklist: https://www.prisma-statement.org/scoping