literature-review
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.). This skill should be used when conducting systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses, research synthesis, or comprehensive literature searches across biomedical, scientific, and technical domains. Creates professionally formatted markdown documents and PDFs with verified citations in multiple citation styles (APA, Nature, Vancouver, etc.).
npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill literature-review --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
What it does
The skill directs an AI to conduct systematic, comprehensive literature reviews across multiple databases, synthesize findings thematically, verify citations, and generate professional outputs in Markdown and PDF formats.
How it works
- It emphasizes planning and scoping: define the research question, set scope, develop a search strategy, and establish inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- It prescribes a multi-database search phase: use gget for PubMed, biorxiv, and other databases; use bioservices for ChEMBL/KEGG/UniProt; include arXiv, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar as applicable; document search parameters per database.
- It requires exporting results in JSON from databases and aggregating into a single file; provides a sample command for post-processing with scripts/search_databases.py to produce aggregated_results.md.
- It mandates deduplication, title/abstract/full-text screening, and recording reasons for exclusions; culminates in creating a PRISMA-like flow diagram.
- It covers data extraction and quality assessment: gather study metadata, design, sample size, findings, limitations, funding/conflicts; apply tools for quality (Cochrane, Newcastle-Ottawa, AMSTAR 2) and rate quality.
- It instructs thematic synthesis rather than study-by-study summaries; organize results by themes, not individual papers; write a discussion with broader context and future directions.
- It includes citation verification as a critical step: run python scripts/verify_citations.py to verify DOIs, generate reports, and correct errors until all citations pass.
- It ends with document generation: generate a PDF via python scripts/generate_pdf.py with a chosen citation style (apa, nature, chicago, vancouver, ieee), with options for TOC, numbering, and dependency checks.
When to use it
Use this skill when:
- Conducting a systematic literature review for research or publication
- Synthesizing current knowledge across multiple sources
- Performing meta-analyses or scoping reviews
- Writing a literature review section of a paper or thesis
- Investigating the state of the art and identifying gaps
- Requiring verified citations and professional formatting
What it can touch
- Databases and tools referenced for searching and citation management include: gget, bioservices, datacommons-client, and Python scripts (e.g., scripts/search_databases.py, python scripts/verify_citations.py, scripts/generate_pdf.py).
- It generates outputs in Markdown and PDF formats, and requires citation style guidance from references/citation_styles.md.
Caveats
- All citations must be verified for accuracy before final submission (CRITICAL: verify_citations.py).
- Preprints and non-peer-reviewed sources are included with cautions about verification and publication status.
- The workflow emphasizes reproducibility and documentation of search strategies, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and PRISMA-like flow data; results are organized thematically rather than as study-by-study summaries.
# Literature Review ## Overview Conduct systematic, comprehensive literature reviews following rigorous academic methodology. Search multiple literature databases, synthesize findings thematically, verify all citations for accuracy, and generate professional output documents in markdown and PDF formats. This skill integrates with multiple scientific skills for database access (gget, bioservices, datacommons-client) and provides specialized tools for citation verification, result aggregation, and document generation. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when: - Conducting a systematic literature review for research or publication - Synthesizing current knowledge on a specific topic across multiple sources - Performing meta-analysis or scoping reviews - Writing the literature review section of a research paper or thesis - Investigating the state of the art in a research domain - Identifying research gaps and future directions - Requiring verified citations and professional formatting ## Core Workflow Literature reviews follow a structured, multi-phase workflow: ### Phase 1: Planning and Scoping 1. **Define Research Question**: Use PICO framework (Population, Intervention, Compari
- Overview
- When to Use This Skill
- Core Workflow
- Phase 1: Planning and Scoping
- Phase 2: Systematic Literature Search
- Phase 3: Screening and Selection
- Phase 4: Data Extraction and Quality Assessment
- Phase 5: Synthesis and Analysis
- Phase 6: Citation Verification
- Phase 7: Document Generation
- Database-Specific Search Guidance
- PubMed / PubMed Central
- bioRxiv / medRxiv
- arXiv
python search_databases.py combined_results.json \ python search_databases.py results.json --deduplicate --output unique_results.json cp assets/review_template.md my_literature_review.md python scripts/verify_citations.py my_literature_review.md python scripts/generate_pdf.py my_literature_review.md \ Search PubMed gget search pubmed "CRISPR gene editing" -l 100 Search with filters Use PubMed Advanced Search Builder to construct complex queries Then execute via gget or direct Entrez API
What does the literature-review skill do?
Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using multiple academic databases (PubMed, arXiv, bioRxiv, Semantic Scholar, etc.). This skill should be used when conducting systematic literature reviews, meta-analyses, research synthesis, or comprehensive literature searches across biomedical, scientific, and technical domains. Creates professionally formatted markdown documents and PDFs with verified citations in multiple citation styles (APA, Nature, Vancouver, etc.).
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add majiayu000/claude-skill-registry --skill literature-review --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From majiayu000/claude-skill-registry, a repository with 534 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.