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Contributing to Awesome Evidence Synthesis

Thank you for your interest in contributing!

This repository aims to curate high-quality, open-source tools for evidence synthesis, including tools used for systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and related research workflows.

Community contributions help keep this list accurate, useful, and up to date. We welcome suggestions, improvements, and new tools that meet the criteria below.

Adding a Tool

This directory strives to be a comprehensive and transparent resource for the research community. Contributions are welcome provided that the tools meet the inclusion criteria and formatting rules outlined below.

Inclusion Criteria

To be included in this directory, a tool must meet the following requirements derived from: (https://evidencesynthesis-tools.github.io/about)[https://evidencesynthesis-tools.github.io/about]. In short:

Open Source License

The tool must be released under a recognized open-source license (e.g., MIT, GPL, Apache).

Public Code Repository

Source code must be publicly accessible on platforms such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.

Non-Proprietary

The software must be free to use, with no closed-source components or mandatory commercial dependencies.

Reusable & Extensible

The repository should contain sufficient documentation to allow reuse, extension, and community-driven development.

Research-Focused

The tool should be relevant to evidence synthesis, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, or closely related research workflows.

External API Dependency Policy

Some open-source tools interact with external databases, platforms, or APIs (for example literature databases or screening systems). These tools are eligible for inclusion if the software itself is fully open source, has a public code repository, and can be reused or extended.

Tools that rely on external APIs are acceptable if:

  • The software uses an OSI-approved open-source license.
  • The full source code is publicly available (e.g., GitHub, GitLab).
  • The tool’s core functionality is transparent and reusable.
  • External services are used only for data access or integration, not hidden proprietary logic.

Such tools may still be documented in this directory.

Note: Tools that are free but closed-source, freemium, or require institutional licenses are not considered. Software whose source code is hosted exclusively on university or institutional websites may also be excluded due to concerns regarding accessibility, long-term stability, and sustained public availability.

Formatting Requirements

When adding a tool:

  • Add it to the appropriate section in README.md.
  • Ensure the entry is put at the very end of its section.
  • Follow the existing format:
- [Tool Name](Link) - Short description ending in a period.

Example:

- [ExampleTool](https://example.com) - A tool for screening systematic review abstracts.

Keep descriptions clear, concise, and objective.

Submitting a Pull Request

To contribute a tool or improvement:

  1. Fork the repository.
  2. Create a new branch for your change.
  3. Add or modify the tool entry in README.md.
  4. Ensure formatting and alphabetization rules are followed.
  5. Submit a pull request describing your change.

Maintainers will review submissions and merge them if they meet the project criteria.

Contributing to Issues

You are welcome to submit pull requests here to:

  • Add new tools
  • Update tool descriptions
  • Fix broken links
  • Improve categorization

If you find something that needs improvement, you are welcome to contribute.

You can:

  • Open a pull request to add or update a tool.

  • Open an issue to report:

    • Broken links
    • Outdated descriptions
    • Missing tools
    • Categorization improvements

Maintainers will review submissions and respond accordingly.