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PRISMA 2020 flow diagram generator

Enter the numbers from your screening process, preview the diagram live, and download a publication-ready SVG or PNG — plus a copy-ready methods sentence. Free, no signup, nothing stored.

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Your screening numbers

Exclusion reasons at eligibility (optional, up to 3)

Downloads use print-safe colors (white boxes, dark text) regardless of the preview theme.

Live preview

IDENTIFICATIONSCREENINGINCLUDEDRecords identified(n = 0)Duplicate records removed(n = 0)Records screened(n = 0)Records excluded(n = 0)Reports assessed for eligibility(n = 0)Reports excluded(n = 0)Studies included in review(n = 0)PRISMA 2020 · generated with kahubi.com

Methods sentence

The selection process followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Of 0 records identified, 0 duplicates were removed and 0 records were screened by title and abstract, of which 0 were excluded. 0 reports were assessed in full text for eligibility, and 0 were excluded. In total, 0 studies were included in the review.

When to use this

PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) is the reporting standard most journals require for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Its flow diagram documents the study selection process: how many records your searches identified, how many survived duplicate removal, how many were excluded at title/abstract screening, how many full texts were assessed for eligibility and why some were excluded, and how many studies were finally included. Reviewers check it first — it is the fastest way to judge whether a search was comprehensive and the screening reproducible. Fill it in at the end of screening (or use it mid-review to track progress), and report the same numbers in your Methods text; the generated sentence below the preview does that for you.

What the diagram must show

  • Records identified per source (databases, registers), before deduplication.
  • Duplicates removed before screening.
  • Records screened and excluded at title/abstract level.
  • Reports assessed in full text, with exclusion reasons and counts.
  • Studies included in the final synthesis.

Common mistakes

  • Numbers that don’t reconcile between stages — the most common reviewer complaint (the generator warns you).
  • Vague exclusion reasons like “not relevant”; name the criterion (wrong population, wrong outcome, no full text).
  • Reporting only the diagram and forgetting the matching numbers in the Methods text.
  • Submitting a low-resolution screenshot instead of a vector or 2× export.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the official PRISMA 2020 template?
It follows the structure of the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews (identification → screening → eligibility → included) in the common single-source layout, with duplicate removal, per-stage exclusions and up to three eligibility exclusion reasons. If your review also searched registers, websites or citation lists separately, note that in the sources label or adapt the official multi-source template.
What file format do journals want?
Most journals accept high-resolution PNG; many prefer vector formats for figures. Download the SVG when your submission system accepts vector graphics (it scales losslessly and can be converted to PDF/EPS), and the 2× PNG otherwise. Both downloads use print-safe black-on-white colors.
How do the numbers have to add up?
Records screened = identified − duplicates removed; reports assessed = screened − excluded at screening; studies included = assessed − excluded at eligibility; and your exclusion reasons should sum to the eligibility exclusions. The generator warns when something is inconsistent but never blocks you — interim reports are allowed to be messy.

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Doing the actual review? Don’t fill this in by hand

Kahubi’s systematic-review flow searches the literature, helps you screen with AI suggestions you confirm, and generates this PRISMA diagram automatically from your real screening decisions — then drafts the review with your included studies as context.

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