Scientific Paper Searcher

When to Use

•User asks to find papers on a scientific topic
•User needs references for research
•User asks "what papers exist about X"

Don't use for: Full systematic reviews (use literature-review skill), meta-analyses, citation verification only.

Prerequisites

Run ./scripts/check-prereqs - needs curl and internet connectivity.

Workflow

1. Clarify Request

Extract: topic, domain (biomedical/CS/physics/general), recency needs, quantity (default 10-15).

2. Select Databases

Domain	Primary	Secondary
Biomedical	PubMed, bioRxiv	Semantic Scholar
CS/AI/ML	arXiv	Semantic Scholar
Physics/Math	arXiv	Semantic Scholar
Interdisciplinary	Semantic Scholar	PubMed, arXiv

Search at least 2 databases.

3. Search

Use WebFetch with these URL patterns:

code

PubMed:    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=QUERY&size=20
arXiv:     https://arxiv.org/search/?query=QUERY&searchtype=all
bioRxiv:   https://www.biorxiv.org/search/QUERY
Semantic:  https://www.semanticscholar.org/search?q=QUERY

4. Output Format

markdown

## Search Results: [Topic]

**Databases:** PubMed, arXiv | **Papers found:** X

### Key Papers

#### 1. [Title]
- **Authors:** First A, Second B, et al. (Year)
- **Source:** Journal/arXiv
- **Link:** https://doi.org/...
- **Why relevant:** [1 sentence]

[repeat for top 10-15 papers, ranked by relevance + citations]

### Synthesis
[2-3 sentences on what the literature shows]

### Recommended Reading Order
1. Start with...

5. Edge Cases

Issue	Action
No results	Broaden terms, try synonyms
Too many (>100)	Add date filter, narrow terms
Database down	Note limitation, use others
Wants seminal papers	Sort by citations, no date filter

Feedback

Run echo "$OUTPUT" | ./scripts/evaluate.sh then ask user: "Were these papers relevant to your research question?"

Log to FEEDBACK.jsonl:

json

{"ts":"<ISO8601>","skill":"scientific-paper-searcher","version":"1.0.0","prompt":"<query>","outcome":<1-5>,"note":"","source":"script|user","schema_version":1}