What is a discrepancy, when does a discrepancy occur and how to resolve it?

Discrepancy is a state of the article which arises when in a two-reviewer project (either 2 human or 1 human and 1 AI), after the Lead Reviewer resolves a conflict, one of the reviewers later revises their decision.

As a result, both reviewers are now in agreement, but their decision no longer aligns with the Lead Reviewer's decision.

E.g. Reviewer 1 and Reviewer 2 have now decided on EXCLUDE, while the Lead Reviewer's decision remains INCLUDE, or vice versa. 

Conflict                                   Discrepancy

Reviewer 1: Include        →    Reviewer 1: Exclude    

Reviewer 2: Exclude              Reviewer 2: Exclude

Lead Reviewer: Include         Lead Reviewer: Include

When a discrepancy occurs:

• All project members will be able to view in the statistics that a discrepancy has occurred. 
• The system automatically updates the Statistics and PRISMA numbers to reflect the discrepancy. 

• The articles are flagged for easy identification.
• All reviewers involved in article screening will have their quality metrics updated, regardless of their individual role.

Although all reviewers can view that a discrepancy exists, only the Lead Reviewer of that article has the permission to review and resolve it. 

The Lead Reviewer will have access to view all decisions and identify which decision led to a discrepancy. 

Once the Lead Reviewer resolves a discrepancy, the numbers will automatically update in the Statistics and PRISMA.