Paper Literature Review

Paper Literature Review

Search, analyze, and synthesize academic literature to identify research gaps and inform hypothesis generation.

Supported Databases

• arXiv: Preprints in physics, mathematics, CS, AI (http://export.arxiv.org/api/query)
• Semantic Scholar: Academic paper search with citation analysis
• PubMed: Biomedical literature
• CrossRef: DOI metadata and citation lookup

Key Functions

1. Literature Search

• Keyword optimization and query refinement
• Multi-database search with deduplication
• Citation network exploration

2. Paper Analysis

• Abstract and key contribution extraction
• Method summary
• Limitation identification

3. Gap Identification

• Compare findings across papers
• Identify unexplored combinations
• Highlight methodological improvements needed

Output Format

After literature review, output:

{
  "research_gap": "Clear articulation of the gap",
  "key_papers": [
    {"title": "...", "year": 2024, "method": "...", "limitation": "..."}
  ],
  "summary": "2-3 paragraph synthesis",
  "recommended_directions": ["direction 1", "direction 2"]
}

Scripts

• scripts/arxiv-search.py: arXiv API integration
• scripts/citation-extractor.py: Extract citations from PDFs
• scripts/review-generator.py: Generate literature review draft

Tips

• Start with broader searches, then refine
• Check recent papers (last 2-3 years) for current state
• Look for systematic reviews in your area
• Note: Quality over quantity - 10 relevant papers > 100 irrelevant ones