Import Literature References from Database Files

SafetyDocs can import literature references in bulk from third-party databases, significantly decreasing the potential for errors and speeding up your literature review process. Literature database files include reference information for all of the articles that show up as search results when you query a database using a specific search term.

To import literature references from a database file:

Create a Literature Review and any Literature Search Terms required to capture details of your literature search.
Upload the RIS, JAPIC ZIP, or IMIC database file to your Library.
Import references from the file.

For each article reference in the imported file, Vault creates a Literature Article and populates its fields using article data from the file. If your database file includes references from non-English literature articles, Vault can send any available abstracts for translation.

Once complete, you can proceed with your literature review.

Prerequisites

To use this feature to import RIS or IMIC files, your Admin must enable:

To use this feature to import JAPIC files, your Admin must additionally enable JAPIC Literature Intake.

Upload a Database File

To upload an RIS, IMIC, or JAPIC ZIP database file:

Navigate to the Literature Search Term that corresponds to the term used to search the database and expand the Documents section.
Select Add and upload the file using the Database Export document classification.

Import Literature References

To import literature references from a database file:

From the uploaded document, select the Literature Search Term value.
From the All Actions menu, select Import Articles from File¹.

Upon starting the import process, Vault moves the database file document and the Literature Search Term to the Importing state. Then, for each reference within the file, Vault creates a Literature Article on the Literature Review related to the document and maps data from the file to the fields on the Literature Article. Vault handles duplicate references and matching search expression numbers as required.

For JAPIC ZIP files, Vault creates a document in your Library for every article document contained in the ZIP file. Vault associates each document with a Literature Article by matching the document number in its name with the Document Number field on the Literature Article.

Note: For JAPIC ZIP files, Vault uses the D-SDI.txt file within the ZIP file for literature reference information.

Once the import process is complete, Vault moves the document and the Literature Search Term to the Imported state.

Considerations When Importing Literature References

When importing literature reference information from a database file, keep the following things in mind:

If any articles within the file have duplicate DOIs or ISSN/ISBNs, Vault imports only one to prevent duplicate records in your Vault. Vault sends a notification indicating that some articles have been skipped from import due to matching unique identifiers.
If the value of any source field exceeds the character limit of the Vault object field to which it is being mapped, Vault truncates the value to that object field’s maximum character length. Vault also adds the value to the Additional Info section as a new record. For information on truncated fields, see the Article Review Notes field of the Literature Article.
If any or all articles fail to be imported, Vault sends a notification.
The Import Articles from File action can import files in the following formats only. Any other file format will cause the import to fail and Vault will move both the Literature Search Term and the uploaded document to the Error state. If needed, verify the file format and try again:
- RIS files, including EMA MLM RIS files
- JAPIC-formatted ZIP files
- IMIC-formatted TXT files

Duplicate Handling

Vault identifies duplicate references using the DOI field for RIS files and the Document Number field for JAPIC ZIP files and IMIC files. Once duplicates have been identified, Vault:

Creates an initial Literature Article
For each duplicate reference, creates a Duplicate-state Literature Article and populates its Duplicate Literature Review and Duplicate Literature Article fields with the initial Literature Review and Literature Article
For documents associated with these duplicate records, populates the Literature Article field with the initial Literature Article

Search Expression Number Matching

When you import literature articles using a JAPIC ZIP or IMIC file, Vault runs a search to determine whether each article’s Search Expression Number or Search Query Number¹ value matches the value of this field in an existing Literature Search Term or Literature Standard Search Term. Based on this search, Vault does the following:

If a Literature Search Term with a matching Search Expression Number or Search Query Number exists in your Vault, Vault creates:
- A Literature Article and links it to the matching Literature Search Term
- A Literature Article Product on the Literature Article for each Product or Product Family on the existing Literature Search Term
If a Literature Standard Search Term with a matching Search Expression Number or Search Query Number exists in your Vault, Vault creates:
- A Literature Search Term and maps the Search Expression Number or Search Query Number, Product, and Product Family values from the matched Literature Standard Search Term
- A Literature Article and links it to the new matching Literature Search Term
If no Literature Search Term or Literature Standard Search Term with a matching Search Expression Number or Search Query Number exists in your Vault, Vault creates:
- A Literature Search Term and populates the Search Expression Number or Search Query Number with the current Search Expression Number or Search Query Number
- A Literature Article and links it to the new Literature Search Term

Note: 1. When conducting search number matching for IMIC files, if a Literature Article contains more than one value in the Search Query Number field, as indicated by a forward slash (/) between two values, Vault treats the entire Search Query Number as a single value.

Field Mapping from Database Files

When importing literature reference information from a database file, Vault creates a Literature Article for each article included within it and maps information from the file to the Literature Article based on the database file format:

Standard RIS
EMA MLM RIS
JAPIC ZIP
IMIC

Note: For blank field values in the imported file, Vault leaves the associated Literature Article field blank.

Field Mapping from Standard RIS Files

The following sections provide a breakdown of this mapping when standard RIS files are imported.

Note: Vault maps EMA MLM RIS files differently than standard RIS files.

Literature Article Section

In this section, Vault maps general information about the article as it appears in the RIS file. The following table outlines how Vault maps this information from the file to fields in your Vault:

RIS Tag	Description	Populated Field
TY	Type of Reference	Reference Type See Reference Type Mapping for a list of RIS abbreviations for the value of the TY tag and how Vault interprets them to populate this field.
AB	Abstract	Abstract
AN	Accession Number	Accession Number
CN	Call Number	Call Number
DA	Date	Date of Publication If the file does not contain a DA value, Vault maps: the Y1 value to the Day and Month components of this field the PY value to the Year component of this field If the file does not contain a Y1 value either, Vault sets the Day and Month to "1 January".
CY	Place of Publication	Place of Publication
CP	City/Place of Publication	Place of Publication If the value of CP conflicts with the CY tag, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
DB	Name of Database	Database Name If the file does not contain a DB value, Vault populates this field with the value in the Literature Database field on the associated Search Term record.
DO	DOI	DOI
DP	Database Provider	Database Provider
EP	End Page	End Page
ET	Edition	Edition
ID	Reference ID	Reference ID
IS	Issue Number	Issue Number
J1	Periodical Name - User Abbreviation 1	Abbreviated Title of Journal
JA	Periodical Name - Standard Abbreviation 1	Abbreviated Title of Journal If the value of JA conflicts with the JF, J1, or T2 tags, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
JF	Journal or Periodical Name - Full Format	Abbreviated Title of Journal If the value of JF conflicts with the J1 or T2 tags, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
JO	Journal or Periodical Name - Full Format	Abbreviated Title of Journal If the value of JO conflicts with the JF, J1, or T2 tags, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
KW	Keywords	Keywords In case of multiple keywords, Vault maps them all to this field and separates them with commas.
L1	Link to PDF of the article	URL (PDF)
L2	Link to full text of the article	URL (Full Text)
LA	Language	Language
N1	Notes	Article Notes
N2	Abstract	Abstract If the value of N2 conflicts with the AB tag, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
PB	Publisher	Publisher
SE	Section	Section
SN	ISBN/ISSN	ISBN/ISSN
SP	Start Page	Start Page
ST	Short Title	Title of Article If the value of ST conflicts with the T1 or TI tags, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section.
T2	Secondary Title	Abbreviated Title of Journal If the value of T2 conflicts with the JF or J1 tags, Vault maps it to the Literature Additional Information section. This tag contains the Secondary Title value for all reference types except Whole Book (BOOK) and Unpublished Work (UNPB). Secondary Titles for these reference types are mapped to the BT tag in the Literature Additional Information section.
TI	Title	Title of Article If the file does not contain a TI value, Vault maps the T1 value to this field.
TT	Translated Title	Title (English)
UR	URL	Link If the file does not contain a UR value, Vault maps the value of the LK tag to this field.
VL	Volume Number	Volume
Y2	Access Date	Access Date

Reference Type Mapping

The following table outlines how Vault interprets Reference Type abbreviations from RIS files to set the value in the Reference Type field:

Abbreviation	Vault Mapping
ABST	Abstract
ADVS	Audiovisual Material
AGGR	Aggregated Database
ANCIENT	Ancient Text
ART	Art Work
BILL	Bill
BLOG	Blog
BOOK	Whole book
CASE	Case
CHAP	Book chapter
CHART	Chart
CLSWK	Classical Work
COMP	Computer Program
CONF	Conference Proceeding
CPAPER	Conference Paper
CTLG	Catalog
DATA	Data File
DBASE	Online Database
DICT	Dictionary
EBOOK	Electronic Book
ECHAP	Electronic Book Section
EDBOOK	Edited Book
EJOUR	Electronic Article
WEB	Web Page
ENCYC	Encyclopedia
EQUA	Equation
FIGURE	Figure
GEN	Generic
GOVDOC	Government Document
GRANT	Grant
HEAR	Hearing
ICOMM	Internet Communication
INPR	In Press
JFULL	Journal (full)
JOUR	Journal
LEGAL	Legal Rule or Regulation
MANSCPT	Manuscript
MAP	Map
MGZN	Magazine Article
MPCT	Motion Picture
MULTI	Online Multimedia
MUSIC	Music Score
NEWS	Newspaper
PAMP	Pamphlet
PAT	Patent
PCOMM	Personal Communication
RPRT	Report
SER	Serial Publication
SLIDE	Slide
SOUND	Sound Recording
STAND	Standard
STAT	Statute
THES	Thesis/Dissertation
UNBILL	Unenacted Bill
UNPB	Unpublished Work
VIDEO	Video Recording

Literature Author Section

In this section, Vault maps information about the article’s authors as it appears in the RIS file. The following table outlines how Vault maps this information from the file to fields in your Vault:

RIS Tag	Description	Field Populated
A1	Primary Authors	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Primary.
A2	Secondary Authors	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Non-Primary.
A3	Tertiary Authors	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Non-Primary.
A4	Subsidiary Authors	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Non-Primary.
AU	Author	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Primary only if: There is no A1 tag in the file This is the first instance of the AU tag
ED	Editor	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Editor.
TA	Translated Author	The complete author reference is populated in the Value field. The author's last name is populated in the Last Name field. The author's first name is populated in the First Name field. The Author Type field is set to Translator.

Additional Info Section

In this section, Vault maps any additional information about the article as it appears in the RIS file that was not covered in the Literature Article and Literature Author sections. Vault creates a record for every section of additional information with its corresponding tag and value from the RIS file. The Tag field is populated with the RIS tag, and the Value field is populated with the corresponding information.

Vancouver Citation

If the RIS file has a TY (Type of Reference) value of JOUR, Vault uses field values from the Literature Article to generate a Vancouver citation using the following format:

{Comma-separated list of Raw values from all Literature Authors}.{Title of Article}.{Abbreviated Title of Journal}.{Date of Publication} [cited {Access Date}]; {Volume}({Issue Number}): {Start Page}-{End Page}. Available from {Database Name} DOI:{DOI}

Field Mapping from EMA MLM RIS Files

When Vault imports literature reference information from an EMA MLM RIS file, a file with a Literature Database field value of EMA MLM, it follows the same mapping to the Literature Article record as other RIS files, with the following additions. Like with other RIS files, for blank tags in the import file, Vault leaves the associated Literature Article field blank.

RIS Tag	Description	Populated Field
SG	Substance Group	Product Family Vault populates this field with the Product Family record with an EMA Substance Group field value that matches the file's SG tag value. If multiple matching Product Family records exist, Vault creates a Literature Article Product record for each matching Product Family record to support multi-product articles. Note: Vault imports an EMA MLM RIS file only if its SG tag value matches an existing Product Family record’s EMA Substance Group field value. Other references in the file will be skipped.
LA	Lead Author	Primary Author Vault populates this field with the file's LA tag value. This field value should match one of the literature authors defined in the Literature Author section.
IE	Inclusion/Exclusion	EMA Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Vault populates this field with the file's IE tag value.
CP	Confirmed/Potential ICSRs	ICSR Review Outcome Vault populates this field value depending on the value of the CP tag in the file: If the tag value is `C`, Vault sets this field value to Confirmed ICSR(s) If the tag value is `P`, Vault sets this field value to More Information Needed
SR	Serious	ICSR(s) Serious? Vault populates this field value depending on the value of the SR tag in the file: If the tag value is `Y`, Vault sets this field value to Serious If the tag value is `N`, Vault sets this field value to Non-serious

Field Mapping from JAPIC ZIP Files

The following sections provide a breakdown of this mapping when ZIP files are imported from JAPIC:

Literature Article Section

In this section, Vault maps general information about the article as it appears in the JAPIC ZIP file. The following table outlines how Vault maps this information from the file to fields in your Vault:

Column in JAPIC ZIP File	Populated Field
検索式番号 (Search Expression Number)	Search Expression Number For more information about this field, see the Search Expression Number Matching section.
文書番号 (Document Number)	Document Number
標題 (Title)	Title of Article
所属機関 (Institution)	Institution
雑誌名 (Journal Title)	Abbreviated Title of Journal
ISSN	ISSN/ISBN
学会名 (Conference Name)	Conference
巻 (Volume)	Volume
号 (Issue)	Issue Number
頁 (Page)	Start Page and End Page
発行年月日 (Date of Publication)	Date of Publication
全キーワード詳細 (All Keyword Details)	Keywords In case of multiple keywords, Vault maps them all to this field and separates them with commas.
文献URL (Literature URL)	URL
発送日 (Sent Date)	Access Date

Literature Author Section

In this section, Vault maps information about the article’s authors as it appears in the JAPIC ZIP file. Vault maps values in the Author Name column of the JAPIC ZIP file to the Raw field on the article’s Literature Author section.

Vancouver Citation

If the JAPIC ZIP file has a value in the 学会名 (Conference Name) column, Vault uses field values from the Literature Article to generate a Vancouver citation using the following format:

{Comma-separated list of Raw values from all Literature Authors}.{Title of Article}.{Conference}.{Date of Publication}

Otherwise, Vault generates a Vancouver citation in the following format:

Field Mapping from IMIC Files

When importing data from an IMIC file, Vault maps data to generated Literature Articles as follows:

Literature Article Section	Column in IMIC File	Populated Field
Article Details	標題 (Title)	Title of Article
Article Details	検索回 (Search Cycle)	Access Date
Reference Information	参照文献 (References)	References
	雑誌名 (Journal Name)	Abbreviated Title of Journal
	副題 (Subtitle)	Subtitle
	原著 (Original Article)	Original Article
	学会名 (Conference Name)	Conference
	学会開催年月日 (Conference Date)	Conference Date
	雑誌コード (Journal Code)	Accession Number
	ISSN	ISBN/ISSN
	巻 (Volume)	Volume
	号 (Issue)	Issue Number
	頁 (Pages)	Start Page and End Page
	文書番号 (Document Number)	Document Number
	検索式番号 (Search Query Number)	Search Expression Number
	発送日 (Dispatch Date)	Dispatch Date
	発行年月日 (Publication Date)	Publication Date
	所属機関 (Article Type)	Article Type
	情報区分 (Information Type)	Information Type
	プログラム (Program)	Program
	DR詳細 (DR Details)	DR Details
Keywords	AEキーワード (AE Keyword)	Keywords¹
Keywords	DRキーワード (DR Keyword)	Keywords¹
Authors	著者名 (Author Name)	Vault generates a Literature Author and populates its fields as follows: Author Type: Primary Raw: Entire author name First Name: The author's first name Last Name: The author's last name
Vancouver Citation	N/A	If the IMIC file has a value in the 学会名 (Conference Name) column, Vault uses field values from the Literature Article to generate a Vancouver citation in the following format: {Comma-separated list of Raw values from all Literature Authors}.{Title of Article}.{Conference}.{Publication Date} Otherwise, Vault generates a Vancouver citation in the following format: {Comma-separated list of Raw values from all Literature Authors}.{Title of Article}.{Abbreviated Title of Journal}.{Publication Date} [cited {Access Date}]; {Volume}({Issue Number}): {Start Page}-{End Page}. Available from {Database Name} DOI:{DOI}
1. If an article contains both AEキーワード (AE Keyword) and DRキーワード (DR Keyword) values, Vault displays both values in a comma-separated list in the Keywords field.