The author of the proposed research study describes the preliminary classification of software tools that support a systematic review or evidence synthesis.

Conducting a systematic review (SR), meta-analysis, or meta-synthesis is a complex process with several phases usually supported by software tools. Some tools help the whole research process, and some zero focus on only one task. This work will describe and compare software tools used to conduct the systematic review phases of screening, selection, and extraction of data or evidence. For this purpose, this study will use two methods: a feature analysis (Kitchenham et al., 1997) and scoping review. Both investigation methods' results would help practitioners select the most functional software tools for conducting SR.