plan-a-literature-review

name	plan-a-literature-review
category	school
description	Plan a transparent academic literature review with a focused question, reproducible search strategy, screening rules, evidence table, synthesis method, and citation boundaries. Use when a student or researcher must survey scholarship systematically without having the agent write graded analysis or invent sources.

plan-a-literature-review

Build a review process another reader can inspect. Make the question, search, inclusion, exclusion, coding, and synthesis decisions explicit before drawing conclusions.

Inputs

• Obtain the assignment or protocol, topic, discipline, date range, databases, deadline, and course AI policy.
• Name the review type, reviewer, supervisor, citation style, and accessible full-text sources.
• Keep the student responsible for reading, interpretation, and graded writing.

Procedure

1. Turn the topic into a focused review question with population or context, concept, outcome, and boundaries where useful.
2. Define the purpose and review type: narrative, scoping, systematic, rapid, or another approved method.
3. Build concepts, synonyms, controlled vocabulary, exclusions, date and language limits, and a pilot search string.
4. Choose databases and supplementary sources appropriate to the discipline. Record access dates and coverage limits.
5. Define inclusion and exclusion criteria before screening results.
6. Pilot the search and test whether known relevant work appears. Revise transparently.
7. Save each exact query, database, filters, date, and result count. Deduplicate records without losing source ids.
8. Screen title and abstract, then full text, recording reasons for exclusion at the required level.
9. Create an evidence table with citation, method, sample, context, finding, limitation, and relevance.
10. Assess source quality using an appropriate rubric and distinguish study limitations from disagreement.
11. Plan synthesis by themes, methods, chronology, theory, or evidence strength, preserving counterevidence and gaps.
12. Verify every citation from the source before drafting in the student's own words.

Boundaries

Do not invent citations, summaries, page numbers, findings, or access. Never bypass paywalls or submit agent-written graded analysis as the student's work. Follow research ethics and course rules.

Done

• A review protocol states question, type, databases, search strings, dates, and screening rules
• A deduplicated record log preserves source ids, decisions, and exclusion reasons
• An evidence table records verified methods, findings, limitations, relevance, and citation details
• A synthesis outline distinguishes evidence patterns, counterevidence, quality, gaps, and student-authored interpretation

Then use research-paper-workshop for the student's drafting process.