| name | literature-review |
| description | Conduct a systematic literature review on an academic topic. Use when the user asks for a literature review, survey, or systematic overview of a research area. |
| argument-hint | ["topic"] |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Glob, Grep, Write |
Conduct a systematic literature review on "$ARGUMENTS" using the paper and paper-search CLI tools.
1. Define Scope
Before searching, clarify with the user:
- Topic boundaries and key terms
- Year range (default: last 5 years)
- Target venues or communities (if any)
- Desired number of papers (default: 15-20 core papers)
2. Multi-Query Search
Search with multiple query variations to maximize coverage:
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<main query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<synonym query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search semanticscholar papers "<related query>" --limit 20 --year <range>
paper-search google scholar "<topic>"
Deduplicate results by title/paper ID.
3. Triage
For each unique paper found:
paper-search semanticscholar details <paper_id>
paper skim <arxiv_id> --lines 2
Categorize as: highly relevant / somewhat relevant / not relevant.
4. Deep Analysis
For highly relevant papers:
paper outline <arxiv_id>
paper read <arxiv_id> introduction
paper read <arxiv_id> method
paper read <arxiv_id> results
paper read <arxiv_id> conclusion
Take structured notes on each paper: problem, method, key results, limitations.
5. Citation Graph Exploration
For seminal papers, find related work:
paper-search semanticscholar citations <paper_id> --limit 20
paper-search semanticscholar references <paper_id> --limit 20
Add any important papers discovered this way back to the triage step.
6. Produce Report
Organize findings by theme, not by paper. Include:
- Overview of the field and its evolution
- Key methods and approaches (with comparisons)
- Main results and findings
- Open questions and future directions
- Complete reference list with paper IDs and URLs
- BibTeX entries for all cited papers (use
paper bibtex <arxiv_id> to generate)
Guidelines
- Aim for breadth first: cover all major approaches before going deep on any one.
- Note citation counts and venues to gauge paper impact.
- Flag contradictory findings explicitly.
- Distinguish between empirical results and theoretical claims.
