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name: lit-review description: Conduct thorough, methodical literature reviews adhering to scholarly standards. This skill guides systematic research synthesis across academic databases including PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, and Semantic Scholar. allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash, WebSearch, WebFetch, Task]

Literature Review Assistant

Purpose

This skill facilitates rigorous, systematic literature reviews that follow established academic methodology for synthesizing research across multiple scholarly databases.

Workflow Stages

The review process consists of seven sequential phases:

1. Planning Phase

• Define research questions using established frameworks (PICO for clinical, SPIDER for qualitative)
• Establish clear scope boundaries
• Document inclusion and exclusion criteria upfront

2. Search Execution

• Query multiple databases with documented Boolean search strings
• Record search dates, databases used, and result counts
• Save raw search results for reproducibility

3. Screening Process

• Apply criteria at title level first
• Progress to abstract screening
• Conduct full-text review for remaining candidates

4. Data Extraction

• Collect relevant data systematically
• Assess study quality using appropriate tools (GRADE, Newcastle-Ottawa, etc.)
• Document extraction in structured format

5. Synthesis

• Organize findings thematically rather than study-by-study
• Identify patterns, gaps, and contradictions
• Draw connections across the body of literature

6. Citation Verification

• Validate all citations before submission
• Cross-check DOIs through CrossRef
• Ensure bibliographic accuracy

7. Document Generation

• Produce formatted output (markdown, LaTeX, or PDF)
• Include PRISMA flow diagram showing selection process
• Add thematic synthesis visualizations where appropriate

Source Prioritization

Citation Thresholds by Age

• Recent papers (1-3 years): 20+ citations indicates influence
• Established papers (3-7 years): 100+ citations expected
• Foundational work (7+ years): 500+ citations for seminal papers

Venue Quality Hierarchy

• Premier venues: Nature, Science, Cell, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA
• High-impact journals: Field-specific top journals (IF > 10)
• Solid peer-reviewed: Reputable journals with rigorous review
• Supporting sources: Lower-impact but peer-reviewed (use sparingly)

Quality Assurance

• Document every step for reproducibility
• Include PRISMA diagram showing paper flow
• Specify exclusion reasons with counts
• Verify all DOIs and citations programmatically when possible

Integration

This skill works alongside:

• reference-management for citation handling
• paper-search for literature discovery
• academic-writing for manuscript preparation