scite Research Assistant
Guide Claude to effectively search and analyze scientific literature using scite's search_literature MCP tool.
When to Use This Skill
Activate when users:
- Ask about scientific research, studies, or evidence
- Want to find papers on a topic
- Need to verify or fact-check scientific claims
- Ask to check references or DOIs
- Want to know how papers cite each other
- Need citation metrics or retraction checks
- Ask for literature reviews or evidence summaries
Core Tool: search_literature
The scite MCP server exposes one tool with many parameters. Use them strategically.
Basic Search
For general topic queries, use term with relevant keywords:
search_literature(term="cognitive behavioral therapy insomnia efficacy")
DOI Lookup
To retrieve a specific paper, use doi:
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7")
Filtered Search
Combine filters for precise results. Available filters include:
| Parameter |
Description |
Example |
term |
Search query across title, abstract, fulltext |
"CRISPR gene therapy" |
doi |
Specific paper DOI |
"10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7" |
author |
Author name |
"John Smith" |
journal |
Journal name |
"Nature" |
topic |
Research topic/field |
"machine learning" |
affiliation |
Institution |
"MIT" |
date_from / date_to |
Publication year range |
2020 / 2024 |
publication_type |
Type of publication |
"journal-article" |
citing_publications_from |
Min citing papers |
50 |
supporting_from |
Min supporting citations |
10 |
contrasting_from |
Min contrasting citations |
3 |
mentioning_from |
Min mentioning citations |
5 |
limit |
Number of results (default 10) |
20 |
sort |
Sort order |
"relevance", "date" |
Reading Full Text
For open access papers, scite returns fulltextExcerpts — relevant passages from the paper matching your search term. To read different sections, make multiple calls with different terms:
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="methods")
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="results")
search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="discussion")
Understanding Results
Each result includes:
- Title, authors, journal, year — Standard metadata
- Abstract — Paper summary
- Smart Citations — Snippets from other papers that cite this one, classified as:
- Supporting — Cites the paper in agreement
- Contrasting — Cites the paper in disagreement or with conflicting findings
- Mentioning — Neutral reference
- Citation counts —
supportingCount, contrastingCount, mentioningCount, citingPublicationsCount
- Retraction/correction status —
editorialNotices flags retractions, corrections, expressions of concern
- Full-text excerpts — Passages from open access papers matching the search term
- Access links — Resolved URLs with open access, institutional, and purchase options via Article Galaxy
Recommended Workflows
Literature Review
- Search broadly:
search_literature(term="topic keywords", limit=20)
- Identify key papers from results
- Deep-dive into top papers:
search_literature(doi="...", term="methods")
- Check citation patterns — look at supporting vs contrasting counts
- Synthesize findings with proper citations
Fact-Checking a Claim
- Find the source paper:
search_literature(doi="...")
- Check for retractions in
editorialNotices
- Search for related work:
search_literature(term="claim keywords")
- Compare Smart Citations — do citing papers support or contrast the claim?
- Present balanced evidence assessment
Reference Verification
- Look up each DOI:
search_literature(doi="...")
- Verify the paper exists and metadata matches
- Check
editorialNotices for retractions or corrections
- Compare claimed findings against actual abstract and Smart Citations
- Flag any discrepancies
Finding Debated Topics
- Search with contrasting filter:
search_literature(term="topic", contrasting_from=3)
- Review the contrasting citation snippets to understand disagreements
- Search for highly-cited papers:
search_literature(term="topic", citing_publications_from=50)
- Cross-reference to find influential but contested work
Citation Format
Always cite papers using standard academic format. Preferred: APA style.
Example:
Smith, J., & Doe, A. (2023). Title of paper. Journal Name, 45(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
When presenting multiple results, include a numbered reference list at the end.
Guidelines
- Always check
editorialNotices before citing a paper — warn users about retracted papers
- Present both supporting and contrasting evidence for balanced assessments
- Use
fulltextExcerpts when available to provide direct quotes from papers
- When a paper has high contrasting citations, highlight the debate
- Do not fabricate citations — only cite papers returned by scite
- If a DOI lookup returns no results, tell the user the paper was not found rather than guessing
- Use multiple targeted searches rather than one broad search for complex questions
1---2name: scite-research-assistant3description: Search and analyze scientific literature using scite's MCP server. Use when users ask about scientific research, want to find papers, verify citations, fact-check scientific claims, check for retractions, or need evidence from peer-reviewed literature.4---56# scite Research Assistant78Guide Claude to effectively search and analyze scientific literature using scite's `search_literature` MCP tool.910## When to Use This Skill1112Activate when users:13- Ask about scientific research, studies, or evidence14- Want to find papers on a topic15- Need to verify or fact-check scientific claims16- Ask to check references or DOIs17- Want to know how papers cite each other18- Need citation metrics or retraction checks19- Ask for literature reviews or evidence summaries2021## Core Tool: `search_literature`2223The scite MCP server exposes one tool with many parameters. Use them strategically.2425### Basic Search2627For general topic queries, use `term` with relevant keywords:2829```30search_literature(term="cognitive behavioral therapy insomnia efficacy")31```3233### DOI Lookup3435To retrieve a specific paper, use `doi`:3637```38search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7")39```4041### Filtered Search4243Combine filters for precise results. Available filters include:4445| Parameter | Description | Example |46|-----------|-------------|---------|47| `term` | Search query across title, abstract, fulltext | `"CRISPR gene therapy"` |48| `doi` | Specific paper DOI | `"10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7"` |49| `author` | Author name | `"John Smith"` |50| `journal` | Journal name | `"Nature"` |51| `topic` | Research topic/field | `"machine learning"` |52| `affiliation` | Institution | `"MIT"` |53| `date_from` / `date_to` | Publication year range | `2020` / `2024` |54| `publication_type` | Type of publication | `"journal-article"` |55| `citing_publications_from` | Min citing papers | `50` |56| `supporting_from` | Min supporting citations | `10` |57| `contrasting_from` | Min contrasting citations | `3` |58| `mentioning_from` | Min mentioning citations | `5` |59| `limit` | Number of results (default 10) | `20` |60| `sort` | Sort order | `"relevance"`, `"date"` |6162### Reading Full Text6364For open access papers, scite returns `fulltextExcerpts` — relevant passages from the paper matching your search term. To read different sections, make multiple calls with different terms:6566```67search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="methods")68search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="results")69search_literature(doi="10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7", term="discussion")70```7172## Understanding Results7374Each result includes:7576- **Title, authors, journal, year** — Standard metadata77- **Abstract** — Paper summary78- **Smart Citations** — Snippets from other papers that cite this one, classified as:79 - **Supporting** — Cites the paper in agreement80 - **Contrasting** — Cites the paper in disagreement or with conflicting findings81 - **Mentioning** — Neutral reference82- **Citation counts** — `supportingCount`, `contrastingCount`, `mentioningCount`, `citingPublicationsCount`83- **Retraction/correction status** — `editorialNotices` flags retractions, corrections, expressions of concern84- **Full-text excerpts** — Passages from open access papers matching the search term85- **Access links** — Resolved URLs with open access, institutional, and purchase options via Article Galaxy8687## Recommended Workflows8889### Literature Review90911. Search broadly: `search_literature(term="topic keywords", limit=20)`922. Identify key papers from results933. Deep-dive into top papers: `search_literature(doi="...", term="methods")`944. Check citation patterns — look at supporting vs contrasting counts955. Synthesize findings with proper citations9697### Fact-Checking a Claim98991. Find the source paper: `search_literature(doi="...")`1002. Check for retractions in `editorialNotices`1013. Search for related work: `search_literature(term="claim keywords")`1024. Compare Smart Citations — do citing papers support or contrast the claim?1035. Present balanced evidence assessment104105### Reference Verification1061071. Look up each DOI: `search_literature(doi="...")`1082. Verify the paper exists and metadata matches1093. Check `editorialNotices` for retractions or corrections1104. Compare claimed findings against actual abstract and Smart Citations1115. Flag any discrepancies112113### Finding Debated Topics1141151. Search with contrasting filter: `search_literature(term="topic", contrasting_from=3)`1162. Review the contrasting citation snippets to understand disagreements1173. Search for highly-cited papers: `search_literature(term="topic", citing_publications_from=50)`1184. Cross-reference to find influential but contested work119120## Citation Format121122Always cite papers using standard academic format. Preferred: APA style.123124Example:125> Smith, J., & Doe, A. (2023). Title of paper. *Journal Name*, 45(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx126127When presenting multiple results, include a numbered reference list at the end.128129## Guidelines130131- Always check `editorialNotices` before citing a paper — warn users about retracted papers132- Present both supporting and contrasting evidence for balanced assessments133- Use `fulltextExcerpts` when available to provide direct quotes from papers134- When a paper has high contrasting citations, highlight the debate135- Do not fabricate citations — only cite papers returned by scite136- If a DOI lookup returns no results, tell the user the paper was not found rather than guessing137- Use multiple targeted searches rather than one broad search for complex questions
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