{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T08:48:51Z","timestamp":1792054131247,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792022400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Res. synth. methods"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Systematic reviews are the gold standard for evidence synthesis, but the manual title and abstract screening of thousands of references creates a severe bottleneck. Existing automated tools have historically struggled to achieve the near-perfect recall (sensitivity) required for reliable reviews. We developed MechaScreener as a \u2018zero-shot\u2019 automated screening tool that utilises a large language model to rank article relevance. The tool requires no initial training data or manual pre-screening, as MechaScreener directly applies user-provided question elements (PICO) or inclusion\/exclusion criteria to assign an ordinal relevance score (1\u20135) to each reference. We evaluated the tool in two phases: a development phase using five reference libraries to optimise prompts, and an independent evaluation phase using 10 diverse Cochrane review libraries (comprising both randomised controlled trials [RCTs] and non-RCTs) containing over 58,000 references. In the evaluation dataset, MechaScreener achieved a perfect recall of 1.00 (100%) in all 10 reviews, ensuring that no relevant articles were missed (pooled record-level 95% CI: 0.98\u20131.00). Concurrently, it achieved an overall macro-average specificity of 0.61 (61%, cluster bootstrap 95% CI: 0.46\u20130.75; pooled record-level specificity 0.59, 95% CI: 0.59\u20130.60). Specificity varied from 0.21 in broad public health topics to 0.91 in precise pharmacological interventions, reflecting the tool\u2019s built-in conservatism when evaluating ambiguous abstracts. By safely eliminating over 60% of irrelevant literature during the initial screening phase without compromising recall, MechaScreener functions as a highly reliable but low-effort \u2018first-pass\u2019 filter, allowing researchers to substantially reduce manual workloads and reallocate resources towards full-text review and data extraction.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/rsm.2026.10124","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T08:23:57Z","timestamp":1792052637000},"page":"1-10","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["MechaScreener: Large language model-based automated screening for systematic reviews and research"],"prefix":"10.1017","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0144-4933","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Connor","family":"Forbes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matt","family":"Carter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carly","family":"Hudson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Glasziou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0133-1613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justin","family":"Clark","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006jxzx88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Bond University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"S1759287926101240_r21","first-page":"CD015255","article-title":"Topical and oral steroids for otitis media with effusion (OME) in children","volume":"12","author":"Mulvaney","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2411962122"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclinepi.2020.01.008"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12875-024-02321-8"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r17","first-page":"CD013085","article-title":"Balneotherapy for chronic venous insufficiency","volume":"1","author":"de Moraes Silva","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r22","first-page":"CD015029","article-title":"Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"5","author":"Littlecott","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2016-012545"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-024-09526-3"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.artmed.2024.102989"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3399\/BJGPO.2021.0106"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r9","unstructured":"[9] Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare. TERA MechaScreener. Accessed March 19, 2026. https:\/\/tera-tools.com\/mechascreener."},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pmrj.12116"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r19","first-page":"CD013830","article-title":"Methylxanthine for the prevention and treatment of apnea in preterm infants","volume":"10","author":"Marques","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r23","first-page":"CD016013","article-title":"Diabetes as a risk factor for tuberculosis disease","volume":"8","author":"Franco","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5195\/jmla.2017.111"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.n71"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r20","first-page":"CD014089","article-title":"Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) for the treatment of Raynaud\u2019s phenomenon","volume":"11","author":"Maltez","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjmed-2022-000385"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r18","first-page":"CD012664","article-title":"Calcium and vitamin D for increasing bone mineral density in premenopausal women","volume":"1","author":"M\u00e9ndez-S\u00e1nchez","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/rsm.2025.16"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r25","first-page":"CD007693","article-title":"Topical fluoride as a cause of dental fluorosis in children","volume":"6","author":"Wong","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jamia\/ocaf050"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01621459.1927.10502953"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r26","first-page":"CD013328","article-title":"Interventions to improve sanitation for preventing diarrhoea","volume":"1","author":"Bauza","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r24","first-page":"CD013789","article-title":"Population-based interventions for preventing falls and fall-related injuries in older people","volume":"1","author":"Lewis","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"S1759287926101240_r16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7326\/M23-2626"}],"container-title":["Research Synthesis Methods"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S1759287926101240","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T08:23:59Z","timestamp":1792052639000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S1759287926101240\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"references-count":26,"alternative-id":["S1759287926101240"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/rsm.2026.10124","relation":{},"ISSN":["1759-2879","1759-2887"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1759-2879","type":"print"},{"value":"1759-2887","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"assertion":[{"value":"\u00a9 The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Research Synthesis Methodology","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}