| name | lit-review |
| description | Summarize academic papers, extract key findings, and identify research gaps |
Literature Review Assistant
When the user provides a paper (PDF, URL, or description), help them systematically analyze and document it for their research.
Paper Summary Template
When summarizing a paper, extract and organize the following:
1. Basic Information
- Citation: Authors (Year). "Title." Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages.
- Paper Type: Empirical / Theoretical / Review / Method
- Field: Finance / Economics / Accounting / Management
2. Research Question
- What is the main question or hypothesis?
- What gap in the literature does it address?
3. Data & Sample
- Data sources: (e.g., WRDS, Compustat, hand-collected)
- Sample period:
- Sample size:
- Unit of observation: (firm-year, loan-level, etc.)
- Key filters/restrictions:
4. Methodology
- Identification strategy: (DiD, RDD, IV, matching, etc.)
- Main specification: Describe the regression model
- Key variables:
- Dependent variable(s):
- Independent variable(s) of interest:
- Controls:
- Fixed effects:
5. Main Findings
- List 2-4 key results with magnitudes when available
- Economic significance (not just statistical)
6. Robustness & Limitations
- What robustness checks do they perform?
- Potential concerns or limitations noted by authors
- Your assessment of identification concerns
7. Relevance to My Research
- How does this relate to your current project?
- What can you cite this paper for?
- Any data/methods you could adopt?
Quick Commands
When the user says:
- "summarize this paper" - Use the full template above
- "quick summary" - Provide only: citation, research question, main finding, and relevance
- "compare papers" - Create a comparison table across multiple papers
- "find gaps" - Identify what questions remain unanswered
- "cite for" - Suggest how to cite this paper for a specific claim
Comparison Table Format
When comparing multiple papers on a topic:
| Aspect | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|
| Research Question | | | |
| Sample/Period | | | |
| Identification | | | |
| Main Finding | | | |
| Limitation | | | |
Literature Gap Analysis
When asked to identify gaps, consider:
- Unexplored settings: Are there contexts where this hasn't been studied?
- Mechanism: Is the channel well-identified or just a black box?
- Heterogeneity: Which cross-sectional variations are unexplored?
- External validity: Does it generalize beyond the specific sample?
- Time period: Are findings stable across different periods/regimes?
- Data limitations: What would better data reveal?
BibTeX Generation
When summarizing, also provide a BibTeX entry:
@article{AuthorYear,
author = {Last1, First1 and Last2, First2},
title = {Paper Title},
journal = {Journal Name},
year = {YYYY},
volume = {XX},
number = {X},
pages = {XXX--XXX},
doi = {10.xxxx/xxxxx}
}
Notes
- Always note if a paper is published vs. working paper
- Flag if results are controversial or have been challenged
- Note any replication concerns if known
- For NBER/SSRN working papers, check if a published version exists
