Literature Review

A structured literature-review skill grounded in PRISMA-style protocols (adapted for non-medical fields), source-assessment frameworks, and thematic synthesis patterns.

When to use this skill

• Conducting a systematic literature review on a specific question
• Building a research bibliography for a paper, report, or grant
• Performing a scoping review to map a field
• Auditing an existing review for gaps, bias, or methodological flaws
• Synthesizing findings from a structured set of sources
• Preparing a research-grounded section of a longer report

Inputs the advisor expects

• Research question(s) — specific, answerable
• Inclusion / exclusion criteria
• Time bound (e.g., past 5 years)
• Geographic / domain bound
• Source types accepted (peer-reviewed, gray literature, conference)
• Existing seed sources (if any)

Clarify First

Before building the review, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• ] Research question (PICO frame) — makes search and synthesis tractable; vague questions yield unfocused reviews
• ] Review type (systematic, scoping, or narrative) — sets rigor, criteria stringency, and output structure (e.g. whether a PRISMA flow is needed)
• ] Inclusion / exclusion criteria (year range, source type, methodology) — drives screening and reproducibility
• ] Synthesis goal (answer a specific question vs map a field) — selects the synthesis approach

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflows

Workflow 1 — Plan and execute the search

1. Refine the research question (PICO / PEO format works).
2. Run search_strategy_builder.py against the question + criteria to

produce a search strategy (database list, queries, filters).

1. Execute searches; capture results.

bash
python3 litreview/scripts/search_strategy_builder.py \
  --input question.json --format markdown

Workflow 2 — Score source quality and relevance

1. Capture each source with metadata (authors, date, venue, methodology).
2. Run source_quality_scorer.py to grade each on 6 quality dimensions

+ relevance to question.

1. Triage: include / exclude / read-in-full.

bash
python3 litreview/scripts/source_quality_scorer.py \
  --input sources.json --format markdown

Workflow 3 — Synthesize findings into themes

1. Tag each source with themes + key findings.
2. Run thematic_synthesis_builder.py to cluster sources by theme,

surface evidence strength, identify gaps.

bash
python3 litreview/scripts/thematic_synthesis_builder.py \
  --input tagged_sources.json --format markdown

Decision frameworks

Search strategy — the PICO frame

• Population / problem
• Intervention / phenomenon of interest
• Comparator (if relevant)
• Outcome

A well-framed question makes search and synthesis tractable.

Inclusion / exclusion criteria

• Year range
• Language
• Source type (peer-reviewed, gray, conference, preprint)
• Methodology (empirical, theoretical, review)
• Geographic scope
• Quality threshold

Publish criteria up front; apply consistently.

Source quality dimensions

| Dimension | Question | |-----------|----------| | Methodology | Is the method sound? | | Sample / dataset | Is it adequate for the claim? | | Peer review | Has it been peer-reviewed? | | Reproducibility | Is data / code available? | | Recency | Is it current? | | Citation impact | Has it been cited / accepted? |

A single sub-dimension is rarely fatal; the combination matters.

Synthesis approaches

| Approach | When | |----------|------| | Narrative synthesis | Heterogeneous sources; explanatory | | Thematic synthesis | Multiple sources address common themes | | Meta-analysis | Quantitative, comparable studies | | Realist synthesis | Complex interventions; context-mechanism-outcome | | Scoping review | Mapping a field rather than answering specific question |

For most non-clinical fields, thematic synthesis is the default.

Common engagements

"Help me build the literature review for my paper"

1. Frame the research question (PICO).
2. Define inclusion criteria.
3. Identify search databases / repositories.
4. Execute searches; deduplicate.
5. Screen titles + abstracts; full-text the candidates.
6. Tag and synthesize.
7. Write: gaps, themes, my contribution.

"Audit my draft literature review"

1. Check the search strategy: reproducible? comprehensive?
2. Check inclusion criteria: applied consistently?
3. Check synthesis: themes substantiated?
4. Check gap identification: real gaps, or convenient?
5. Check citation balance: not over-relying on a single source / group.

"Map the landscape of research area]"

1. Conduct a scoping review (different from systematic).
2. Less stringent quality criteria; broader scope.
3. Goal: map the field, not answer specific question.
4. Output: themes, gaps, key authors, key venues.

Anti-patterns to avoid

• Search strategy that's "Google Scholar for keywords." Not reproducible.
• Inclusion criteria written after seeing results. Cherry-picking.
• Synthesizing only confirming sources. Bias.
• Citing without reading. Cite chains repeat errors.
• No quality scoring. All sources weighted equally.
• No gap discussion. Reader can't see what's not known.
• Over-reliance on one author / group / venue. Hidden bias.
• No PRISMA-style flow diagram (for systematic reviews). Process opaque.

References

• references/search-strategy-and-prisma.md — search patterns, PRISMA discipline
• references/source-quality-assessment.md — quality dimensions, common assessments
• references/synthesis-and-citation-management.md — synthesis approaches, citation hygiene

Related skills

• research/grants — grant proposals built on literature
• research/patent — IP-focused literature search
• research/dossier — intelligence research patterns
• product-team/research-summarizer — synthesizing qualitative research