It can be challenging to decide which evidence synthesis software to choose when doing a
systematic review. This article discusses some important questions to consider in relation to the
researcher’s chosen evidence synthesis approach. Software can support researchers in a range of
ways. Here, the example of EPPI-Reviewer is used to explore a range of conditions and software
solutions. Some review teams, for example, value collaboration across time and geographical space;
in-built bias assessment tools; and line-by-line coding for qualitative textual analysis. EPPI-Reviewer
has text mining automation technologies. Version 5 supports data sharing and re-use across the
systematic review community. Open source software will soon be released. EPPI-Centre will
continue to offer the software as a cloud-based service. The software is offered via a subscription
with a one-month (extendible) trial available and volume discounts for ‘site licences’. It is free to use
for Cochrane and Campbell reviews. The next EPPI-Reviewer version is being built in collaboration
with NICE using ‘surveillance’ of newly published research to support ‘living’ iterative reviews. This is
achieved using a combination of machine learning and traditional information retrieval technologies
to identify the type of research each new publication describes and determine its relevance for a
particular review, domain or guideline. While the amount of available knowledge and research is
constantly increasing, the ways in which software can support the focus and relevance of data
identification are also fast developing. Software advances are maximising the opportunities for the production of relevant and timely reviews
