literature-review skill

---
name: literature-review
version: 1.2.0
description: Assistance with writing literature reviews by searching for academic sources via Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref and PubMed APIs. Use when the user needs to find papers on a topic, get details for specific DOIs, or draft sections of a literature review with proper citations.
---

# Literature Review

Help write academic literature reviews using a multi-engine search integration (S2, OA, CR, PM).

## Capabilities

- **Multi-Source Search**: Find relevant academic papers using Semantic Scholar (S2), OpenAlex (OA), Crossref (CR), and PubMed (PM).
- **Full Abstracts**: All sources now return complete abstracts (PubMed uses `efetch` for full XML records).
- **DOI Extraction**: DOIs are extracted from all sources for cross-referencing and deduplication.
- **Automatic Deduplication**: When searching multiple sources (`--source all` or `--source both`), results are automatically deduplicated by DOI.
- **Polite Access**: Automatic email identification for OpenAlex/Crossref "Polite Pool" (via `USER_EMAIL` env var).
- **Abstract Reconstruction**: Reconstructs abstracts from OpenAlex inverted index format.
- **Synthesis**: Group papers by theme and draft review sections based on metadata.

## Environment Variables

| Variable | Purpose | Default |
|----------|---------|---------|
| `USER_EMAIL` | Email for polite API access | `[email protected]` |
| `CLAWDBOT_EMAIL` | Fallback if USER_EMAIL not set | — |
| `SEMANTIC_SCHOLAR_API_KEY` | Optional S2 API key for higher rate limits | — |
| `OPENALEX_API_KEY` | Optional OpenAlex API key | — |

## Workflows

### 1. Broad Search (All Bases)
Get a comprehensive overview from all major academic databases. Results are automatically deduplicated by DOI.
```bash
python3 scripts/lit_search.py search "impact of glycyrrhiza on bifidobacterium" --limit 5 --source all
```

### 2. Targeted Search
- **OpenAlex** (`oa`): Fast and comprehensive, good abstracts.
- **Semantic Scholar** (`s2`): High-quality citation data and TL;DRs.
- **Crossref** (`cr`): Precise DOI-based metadata (no abstracts).
- **PubMed** (`pm`): Gold standard for biomedical research, full abstracts and PMIDs.

```bash
python3 scripts/lit_search.py search "prebiotic effects of liquorice" --source pm
```

### 3. Comparing Sources
Search both S2 and OA simultaneously to ensure nothing is missed. Deduplicated by default.
```bash
python3 scripts/lit_search.py search "Bifidobacterium infantis growth" --source both
```

### 4. Getting Full Details (S2)
Retrieve detailed metadata including TL;DR summaries.
```bash
python3 scripts/lit_search.py details "DOI:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136000"
```

### 5. Writing the Review
1.  **Extract**: Pull key findings from the abstracts found.
2.  **Organize**: Group findings into a logical structure (e.g., chronological or thematic).
3.  **Draft**: Use the "Think step-by-step" approach to synthesize multiple sources into a coherent narrative.

## Output Format

Each result includes:
- `id`: Source-specific identifier (PMID for PubMed, OpenAlex ID, S2 paper ID, DOI for Crossref)
- `doi`: DOI when available (used for deduplication)
- `title`: Paper title
- `year`: Publication year
- `authors`: List of author names
- `abstract`: Full abstract text (when available)
- `venue`: Journal or conference name
- `citationCount`: Citation count (S2, OA)
- `source`: Which database the result came from

## Tips for Success

- **Citations**: Always cross-reference the DOI or PMID for accuracy in bibliography.
- **Filtering**: Focus on papers with higher `citationCount` or recent years for a more modern review.
- **PubMed for Medicine**: Use `--source pm` for the most reliable biomedical literature.
- **Deduplication**: Multi-source searches automatically remove duplicates; use single sources if you need raw counts.