Map articles, methods, themes, and evidence across your topic. Balance reading pace with writing targets. Finish reviews sooner with clearer scope, gaps, and milestones.
Use this tool to estimate screening effort, reading load, note-taking time, synthesis work, writing effort, buffer hours, and weekly study targets.
The page stays clean and focused, while the calculator inputs use a responsive 3-column, 2-column, and 1-column grid.
The planner estimates how many papers remain after duplicate removal, screening exclusion, and evidence suitability filtering. It then converts page counts and task minutes into hours and spreads the workload across your chosen timeline.
| Metric | Formula |
|---|---|
| After duplicates | Submitted papers × (1 − duplicate rate) |
| After exclusion | After duplicates × (1 − exclusion rate) |
| Core papers | After exclusion × usable evidence rate |
| Total pages | Core papers × average pages per paper |
| Reading hours | Total pages ÷ reading speed |
| Task hours | (Minutes per paper × relevant papers) ÷ 60 |
| Total planner hours | Screening + reading + notes + synthesis + writing + theme mapping + buffer |
| Weekly hours needed | Total planner hours ÷ project weeks |
Interpretation tip: if weekly hours needed exceed available hours per week, shorten the scope, extend the timeline, improve reading speed, or reduce nonessential tasks.
| Example Inputs | Example Outputs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic | Digital learning feedback systems | Core papers | 59 |
| Submitted papers | 150 | Estimated pages | 950 |
| Duplicate rate | 12% | Total planner hours | 93.44 |
| Exclusion rate | 38% | Weekly hours needed | 9.34 |
| Usable evidence rate | 72% | Daily hours needed | 1.87 |
| Average pages per paper | 16 | Status | Balanced |
| Reading speed | 18 pages/hour | ||
| Project weeks | 10 | ||
| Study hours per week | 12 | ||
It estimates likely core papers, reading pages, work hours, weekly effort, daily study load, and completion timing for a literature review project.
These rates reduce inflated paper counts. They help model realistic workload after removing repeated records and screening out irrelevant studies.
It represents the share of screened papers that remain valuable for detailed synthesis, comparison, and citation in the final review.
Yes. Start with the full screening pool. The planner then narrows the set through duplicates, exclusions, and evidence suitability assumptions.
Use your average pace for dense academic reading, not casual reading. Pilot three papers and compute pages read per focused hour.
Buffer hours protect your schedule from delays, difficult papers, citation checks, revision cycles, supervisor feedback, and unexpected administrative tasks.
Your plan is overloaded. Reduce scope, lengthen the timeline, increase weekly hours, or streamline note-taking and writing workflows.
Yes. It is useful for seminar reviews, dissertations, theses, capstones, and structured evidence scans where time planning matters.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.