Literature Review

Conduct structured literature reviews by searching academic databases, screening abstracts, and synthesizing findings into organized reviews with proper citations.

When to Use This Skill

Trigger when user:

• •Says "literature review", "find papers", "search literature"
• •Asks "what does the research say about..."
• •Wants to "review the evidence on..."
• •Needs a "systematic search" or "scoping review"
• •Says "find relevant papers" or "search for studies"

Prerequisites

• •Zotero MCP: Must be configured in mcpServers (for library search, metadata, fulltext, annotations)
• •paper-search-mcp: Must be configured (for PubMed, arXiv, Semantic Scholar queries)
• •Zotero desktop app should be running for full-text access

Workflow

Phase 1: Define Search Strategy

Use AskUserQuestion to clarify:

1. •Topic: What specific research question or topic?
2. •Scope: Systematic review, scoping review, or quick survey?
3. •Databases: Which to search? (PubMed, arXiv, Semantic Scholar, Zotero library)
4. •Inclusion criteria: Date range, study type, population, language
5. •Exclusion criteria: What should be filtered out?

Phase 2: Search Databases

1. •Search user's Zotero library first (using Zotero MCP search tools — exact tool names depend on installed server)
2. •Search external databases via paper-search-mcp
3. •Deduplicate results across sources
4. •Present initial hit counts by database

Phase 3: Screen Abstracts

1. •Retrieve abstracts for all hits
2. •Apply inclusion/exclusion criteria
3. •Present screening summary:
   • •Total found: N
   • •After deduplication: N
   • •After screening: N
   • •Excluded (with reasons): N

Phase 4: Extract and Synthesize

1. •For included papers, retrieve full text where available (via Zotero MCP fulltext tools)
2. •Extract key findings into an evidence table:

1. •Group findings by theme
2. •Identify convergent and divergent findings
3. •Note gaps in the literature

Phase 5: Write Review

Output a structured markdown review:

# Literature Review: [Topic]

## Search Strategy
- Databases searched: ...
- Search terms: ...
- Date range: ...
- Inclusion/exclusion criteria: ...

## Results
- N papers identified, N included after screening

## Thematic Findings

### Theme 1: [Name]
[Synthesis of findings with citations]

### Theme 2: [Name]
[Synthesis of findings with citations]

## Gaps and Future Directions
[What questions remain unanswered]

## Evidence Summary Table
[Table from Phase 4]

## References
[Citation keys from Zotero]

Key Principles

• •Always start with the user's existing Zotero library before searching externally
• •Use citation keys that match the user's Zotero library format
• •Present screening decisions transparently (not just final counts)
• •Distinguish between what evidence says vs. what is absent from the literature
• •For systematic reviews, follow PRISMA-style reporting where possible