| name | ai4scholar-pdf-fulltext-reading |
| description | Use AI4Scholar to download open-access PDFs or read full text from Semantic Scholar, arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, and DOI-based sources when access permits. Trigger for reading papers, extracting methods/results, PDF download, full-text summaries, or DOI full-text retrieval. |
AI4Scholar PDF And Full-Text Reading
Use this skill when the user wants to read or summarize paper full text, download PDFs, inspect methods/results, or extract evidence from an article.
Core Rules
- Prefer legal open-access routes first.
- DOI download for paywalled papers works only when the running environment has institutional access.
- If extraction is poor, say so and do not infer missing methods or results.
- Do not summarize a full paper from title/abstract alone unless explicitly labeled as abstract-only.
Tools From The Source Guide
| Tool | Use |
|---|
download_semantic | Get Semantic Scholar open-access PDF link |
read_semantic_paper | Download and extract Semantic Scholar full text |
download_arxiv | Get arXiv PDF link |
read_arxiv_paper | Download and extract arXiv full text |
download_biorxiv | Get bioRxiv PDF link |
read_biorxiv_paper | Download and extract bioRxiv full text |
download_medrxiv | Get medRxiv PDF link |
read_medrxiv_paper | Download and extract medRxiv full text |
download_by_doi | Download PDF by DOI when access permits |
read_by_doi | Download and extract full text by DOI when access permits |
Reading Workflow
- Verify the paper identifier.
- Try open-access source in this order:
- arXiv/bioRxiv/medRxiv if the identifier is a preprint ID,
- Semantic Scholar open-access PDF,
- DOI access when permitted.
- Extract and segment:
- Abstract,
- Introduction,
- Theory/background,
- Method,
- Data/sample,
- Measures/stimuli,
- Analysis,
- Results,
- Discussion/limitations.
- For empirical papers, record exact design, sample, variables, model, and key statistics.
- Mark any unreadable sections.
Evidence Extraction Template
Paper:
Identifier:
Access route:
Extraction quality: good / partial / poor
Research question:
Theory/mechanism:
Data/sample:
Method/design:
Variables/measures:
Key results:
Limitations:
Reusable ideas for my project:
Sections that need manual PDF reading:
Beginner Prompt
Use AI4Scholar to try to read the full text of this paper: [DOI/arXiv/PMID/title].
Extract research question, mechanism, sample, experiment/data design, variables, model, key results, and limitations.
If only the abstract is available or PDF extraction fails, say so clearly and do not guess.
Fallbacks
- Use the local
pdf or markitdown skill for downloaded PDFs.
- Use publisher HTML when PDF extraction is bad.
- For scanned PDFs, tell the user OCR is required.
