Background: There are now over 120 software tools/programs* that can assist in the guideline or systematic review development process. G-I-N Tech are a working group that have been established to investigate the sharing of information from the various electronic tools used during systematic review and guideline development and to provide a forum for members to discuss the best way to use the various tools. However, it is currently unclear what tools are used by G-I-N members, what steps of the guideline development process they are used for, and if there are barriers to their use.

Objectives: To determine what tools are currently being used by guideline developers (including systematic reviewers) and how they are used.

Methods: Data will be collected via a survey using SurveyMonkey during May-July 2017. Demographic data will be collected (such as age, country and which G-I-N organisaiton the participant is from). Questions will then be asked regarding their use of tools to support the systematic review and guideline development process. Likert scales will be used for some questions, whilst a simple response of yes/no/not applicable will be used for others. Additionally, there will be sections where free text/open responses can be provided.

Results: The results of this survey will provide information regarding what online tools are used, what they are used for, and also provide valuable feedback to the SR and guideline tool development community.

Conclusions: The results of this survey will provide a focus for discussing improvements of tools to make them more useful to G-I-N members, as well as aid in the sharing of information between the various tools and platforms.
As a forum, the G-I-N Tech working group will use these results facilitate discussions with tool developers and the guideline development community.

*123 tools are listed on the SR ToolBox website, http://systematicreviewtools.com/