Practical Guide

How to Import RIS Files for a Systematic Review

Export RIS files from databases or reference managers, preserve titles and abstracts, and import them into your systematic review screening workflow.

Quick answer: how to import a RIS file

  1. 1. Export references as RIS from your database or reference manager.
  2. 2. Include full metadata: title, abstract, authors, journal, year, DOI, and database ID.
  3. 3. Upload the `.ris` file into your systematic review tool.
  4. 4. Check parser warnings, duplicate records, and missing abstracts before screening.
  5. 5. Start title and abstract screening once the imported records look complete.

What Is a RIS File?

RIS (Research Information Systems) is a standardized file format for storing bibliographic references. It's the most widely supported format for transferring references between academic databases and review tools, but it is not the only one. PubMed often uses .nbib, spreadsheets use .csv, publisher/reference-manager exports may use .bib or .enw, and Web of Science may use tagged text.

-- Example RIS entry
TY - JOUR
AU - Smith, John
AU - Doe, Jane
TI - Effects of exercise on mental health
JO - Journal of Health Psychology
PY - 2023
AB - This study examines the relationship...
DO - 10.1234/jhp.2023.001
ER -

💡 Recommended rule: Use .ris when available, but use the database's native export when it is better suited, such as .nbib for PubMed. You may also encounter .nbib (PubMed), .csv (spreadsheet), .bib (BibTeX/LaTeX), and .enw (EndNote tagged text). Lumina accepts all of these plus Web of Science tagged text.

How to Export from Academic Databases

PM

PubMed

  1. 1. Run your search on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. 2. Click "Save" below the search box
  3. 3. Selection: "All results"
  4. 4. Format: Select "PubMed" (.nbib) or "CSV"
  5. 5. Click "Create file"
⚠️ PubMed limits exports to 10,000 results. For larger sets, use PubMed's "Send to" → Clipboard or split your search into date ranges.
RM

Zotero / EndNote / Mendeley

  1. 1. Select the references or collection you want to screen.
  2. 2. Choose export and select RIS where available.
  3. 3. Include notes, abstracts, DOI, and file metadata if your reference manager offers those options.
  4. 4. Save the file with the .ris extension and upload it to your review project.
⚠️ If abstracts are missing after import, re-export from the original database with full record metadata instead of citation-only fields.
Sc

Scopus

  1. 1. Run your search on scopus.com
  2. 2. Select all results (checkbox at top)
  3. 3. Click "Export"
  4. 4. Choose "RIS format"
  5. 5. Include: Citation information + Abstract + Keywords
  6. 6. Click "Export"
⚠️ Scopus limits exports to 2,000 results at a time. Export in batches if needed.
WoS

Web of Science

  1. 1. Run your search on Web of Science
  2. 2. Click "Export" button
  3. 3. Choose "Other File Formats"
  4. 4. Records: "Records 1 to [total]"
  5. 5. Record content: "Full Record"
  6. 6. File format: "Other reference software (e.g. RIS)"
⚠️ WoS limits exports to 1,000 records per batch. Use "Records X to Y" for larger exports.
Em

Embase / EndNote / Cochrane

  1. 1. Prefer RIS when the database offers it.
  2. 2. If RIS is not available, export EndNote tagged text (.enw) or a database CSV with title and abstract columns.
  3. 3. For any export dialog, choose citation + abstract/full record, not citation-only.
  4. 4. If a database lets you customize fields, include title, abstract, authors, source/journal, year/date, DOI, and accession ID.
⚠️ Citation-only exports are the main reason abstract screening imports fail. Always include abstracts or full record when available.

Importing into Your Review Tool

Importing into Lumina

  1. 1. Create a new project in Lumina and set your eligibility criteria
  2. 2. Go to your project → Click "Upload Papers"
  3. 3. Upload your .ris, .csv, .nbib, .bib, .enw, or tagged .txt file
  4. 4. Lumina automatically parses the file and extracts titles, abstracts, DOIs, and other metadata
  5. 5. AI generates embeddings and ranks papers by relevance to your criteria
  6. 6. Start screening — most relevant papers appear first!

Tip: Lumina also has a built-in database search across PubMed, OpenAlex, arXiv, Europe PMC, bioRxiv, and Crossref, so you can skip the manual export step entirely for those sources.

Supported File Formats

.ris

Most universal format

.csv

Spreadsheet format

.nbib

PubMed native format

.enw / .txt

Tagged text exports

Handling Duplicates

When importing from multiple databases, you'll inevitably have duplicate papers. Here's how to handle them:

✓
Automatic deduplication: Lumina detects duplicates using exact DOI, fuzzy title similarity (≥85%), and author+year+title prefix matching. Duplicates are retained with links for full auditability.
💡
Manual deduplication: Use reference managers (Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote) to merge duplicates before exporting to RIS.

Continue Learning

Systematic Review Guide

After importing, start the review process

Start Screening

Best practices for title/abstract screening

Best Review Tools

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