| name | scite-research-assistant |
| description | Search and analyze scientific literature using scite's MCP server. Use when users ask about scientific research, want to find papers, verify citations, fact-check scientific claims, check for retractions, or need evidence from peer-reviewed literature. |
scite Research Assistant
Guide Claude to effectively search and analyze scientific literature using scite's search_literature MCP tool.
When to Use This Skill
Activate when users:
- Ask about scientific research, studies, or evidence
- Want to find papers on a topic
- Need to verify or fact-check scientific claims
- Ask to check references or DOIs
- Want to know how papers cite each other
- Need citation metrics or retraction checks
- Ask for literature reviews or evidence summaries
Core Tool: search_literature
The scite MCP server exposes one tool with many parameters. Use them strategically.
Basic Search
For general topic queries, use term with relevant keywords:
search_literature(term="cognitive behavioral therapy insomnia efficacy")
DOI Lookup
To retrieve a specific paper, use doi:
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7")
Filtered Search
Combine filters for precise results. Available filters include:
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|
term | Search query across title, abstract, fulltext | "CRISPR gene therapy" |
doi | Specific paper DOI | "10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7" |
author | Author name | "John Smith" |
journal | Journal name | "Nature" |
topic | Research topic/field | "machine learning" |
affiliation | Institution | "MIT" |
date_from / date_to | Publication year range | 2020 / 2024 |
publication_type | Type of publication | "journal-article" |
citing_publications_from | Min citing papers | 50 |
supporting_from | Min supporting citations | 10 |
contrasting_from | Min contrasting citations | 3 |
mentioning_from | Min mentioning citations | 5 |
limit | Number of results (default 10) | 20 |
sort | Sort order | "relevance", "date" |
Reading Full Text
For open access papers, scite returns fulltextExcerpts — relevant passages from the paper matching your search term. To read different sections, make multiple calls with different terms:
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="methods")
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="results")
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="discussion")
Understanding Results
Each result includes:
- Title, authors, journal, year — Standard metadata
- Abstract — Paper summary
- Smart Citations — Snippets from other papers that cite this one, classified as:
- Supporting — Cites the paper in agreement
- Contrasting — Cites the paper in disagreement or with conflicting findings
- Mentioning — Neutral reference
- Citation counts —
supportingCount, contrastingCount, mentioningCount, citingPublicationsCount
- Retraction/correction status —
editorialNotices flags retractions, corrections, expressions of concern
- Full-text excerpts — Passages from open access papers matching the search term
- Access links — Resolved URLs with open access, institutional, and purchase options via Article Galaxy
Recommended Workflows
Literature Review
- Search broadly:
search_literature(term="topic keywords", limit=20)
- Identify key papers from results
- Deep-dive into top papers:
search_literature(doi="...", term="methods")
- Check citation patterns — look at supporting vs contrasting counts
- Synthesize findings with proper citations
Fact-Checking a Claim
- Find the source paper:
search_literature(doi="...")
- Check for retractions in
editorialNotices
- Search for related work:
search_literature(term="claim keywords")
- Compare Smart Citations — do citing papers support or contrast the claim?
- Present balanced evidence assessment
Reference Verification
- Look up each DOI:
search_literature(doi="...")
- Verify the paper exists and metadata matches
- Check
editorialNotices for retractions or corrections
- Compare claimed findings against actual abstract and Smart Citations
- Flag any discrepancies
Finding Debated Topics
- Search with contrasting filter:
search_literature(term="topic", contrasting_from=3)
- Review the contrasting citation snippets to understand disagreements
- Search for highly-cited papers:
search_literature(term="topic", citing_publications_from=50)
- Cross-reference to find influential but contested work
Citation Format
Always cite papers using standard academic format. Preferred: APA style.
Example:
Smith, J., & Doe, A. (2023). Title of paper. Journal Name, 45(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
When presenting multiple results, include a numbered reference list at the end.
Guidelines
- Always check
editorialNotices before citing a paper — warn users about retracted papers
- Present both supporting and contrasting evidence for balanced assessments
- Use
fulltextExcerpts when available to provide direct quotes from papers
- When a paper has high contrasting citations, highlight the debate
- Do not fabricate citations — only cite papers returned by scite
- If a DOI lookup returns no results, tell the user the paper was not found rather than guessing
- Use multiple targeted searches rather than one broad search for complex questions
