Uploading & Study-Type Detection
Every review begins by uploading your manuscript and establishing its study type -- the checklist used depends entirely on the study design.
Uploading the manuscript
The Upload Manuscript panel accepts your manuscript as a PDF by drag-and-drop or browsing.
| Property | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Format | PDF only (application/pdf) |
| Maximum size | 10 MB |
Validation messages:
| Condition | Message |
|---|---|
| File is not a PDF | "Please upload a PDF file" |
| File exceeds 10 MB | "File size must be less than 10MB" |
Once a valid PDF is selected, the panel shows the file name and size and asks "How would you like to proceed?" -- presenting three study-type detection methods.
Three ways to determine the study type
| Method | How it works | Resulting confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Guided survey | Answer a short questionnaire; module infers study type | Computed from answers |
| Manual selection | Pick study type directly from a list | 100% (user-specified) |
| AI detection | AI reads manuscript and identifies study type automatically | 95% (AI-detected) |
All three converge on a study-type recommendation -- a study type, confidence value, and reasoning -- which feeds the review-method selection step.
Guided survey
The survey route takes you into the Manuscript Survey -- a short series of questions about your study's approach, design, and methods. On completion, the module runs checklist-determination logic to infer the most likely study type with a confidence score and classification reasons.
Recommended when you are not certain which reporting guideline applies.
Manual selection
Pick your study type directly from a dropdown of all supported types.
When selected manually, the recommendation is recorded with:
- Study type: your chosen type
- Confidence: 100%
- Reasoning: "Manually selected by user"
Fastest route when you are confident about your design.
AI detection
The AI detection route reads the manuscript and identifies the study type:
- PDF is converted to base64 and sent to the study-type detection service
- AI analyses the manuscript and returns the detected study type
- Module shows a "Detection Complete" panel with the detected type
When you proceed from AI detection:
- Study type: AI-detected type
- Confidence: 95%
- Reasoning: "Detected by ePICOS AI"
If detection fails: the module shows "Failed to analyze manuscript with AI. Please try manual selection." -- fall back to picking the type yourself without re-uploading.
How the manuscript is processed
The uploaded PDF is read in the browser and converted to base64, then sent to the platform's secure server-side analysis functions. The manuscript content is processed server-side rather than in the browser alone.
After detection
However the study type was determined, you arrive at the review-method selection step:
- Manual review -- work through the checklist yourself
- AI review -- let the AI evaluate every checklist item
You can step back at any point: back to the survey, back to upload, or back to selection.
A note on confidence: The confidence value reflects how the study type was determined, not manuscript quality. 100% for manual choice, 95% for AI detection, and a computed value for the survey. If a recommended type looks wrong, switch to manual selection.