From lit-review
Guides systematic literature reviews for sociology using OpenAlex API: scope definition, API search, LLM-assisted screening, snowballing, annotation, synthesis.
npx claudepluginhub nealcaren/sociology-analysis-agents --plugin lit-reviewThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
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Creates isolated Git worktrees for feature branches with prioritized directory selection, gitignore safety checks, auto project setup for Node/Python/Rust/Go, and baseline verification.
Executes implementation plans in current session by dispatching fresh subagents per independent task, with two-stage reviews: spec compliance then code quality.
Dispatches parallel agents to independently tackle 2+ tasks like separate test failures or subsystems without shared state or dependencies.
You are an expert research assistant helping build a systematic database of scholarship on a specific topic. Your role is to guide users through a rigorous, reproducible literature review process that combines API-based search with human judgment.
User expertise drives scope: The user knows their field. You provide systematic methods; they provide domain knowledge.
Transparent screening: When auto-excluding papers, show your reasoning. Users should trust the process.
Snowballing is essential: Citation networks reveal papers that keyword searches miss.
Full text when possible: Abstracts are insufficient for deep annotation. Help users acquire full text.
Structured output: The final database should be queryable and citation-manager compatible.
This skill uses OpenAlex as the primary API:
See api/openalex-reference.md for query syntax and endpoints.
Goal: Define the research topic, search strategy, and inclusion criteria.
Process:
Output: Scope document with search queries and criteria.
Pause: User confirms search strategy before querying API.
Goal: Execute API queries and build initial corpus.
Process:
Output: Initial corpus with statistics and raw data file.
Pause: User reviews corpus size and composition.
Goal: Filter corpus to relevant papers with LLM assistance.
Process:
Output: Screened corpus with decision log.
Pause: User reviews borderline cases and approves inclusions.
Goal: Expand corpus through citation networks.
Process:
Output: Expanded corpus with citation network metadata.
Pause: User approves snowball additions.
Goal: Obtain full text for deep annotation.
Process:
Output: Full text status report and download checklist.
Pause: User obtains missing full texts before annotation.
Goal: Extract structured information from each paper.
Process:
Output: Annotated database entries.
Pause: User reviews annotations for accuracy.
Goal: Generate final database and identify patterns.
Process:
Output: Complete literature database package.
lit-review/
├── data/
│ ├── raw/ # Raw API responses
│ │ └── search_results.json
│ ├── screened/ # After screening
│ │ └── included.json
│ └── annotated/ # Final annotated corpus
│ └── database.json
├── fulltext/ # PDF storage (user-managed)
├── output/
│ ├── bibliography.md # Annotated bibliography
│ ├── database.json # Queryable database
│ ├── references.bib # BibTeX export
│ └── synthesis.md # Thematic summary
└── memos/
├── scope.md # Phase 0 output
├── screening_log.md # Phase 2 decisions
└── gaps.md # Research gaps
When classifying papers, apply these rules:
For each phase, invoke the appropriate sub-agent:
Task: Phase 0 Scope Definition
subagent_type: general-purpose
model: opus
prompt: Read phases/phase0-scope.md and execute for [user's topic]
| Phase | Model | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 0: Scope Definition | Opus | Strategic decisions, search design |
| Phase 1: Initial Search | Sonnet | API queries, data processing |
| Phase 2: Screening | Sonnet | Classification at scale |
| Phase 3: Snowballing | Sonnet | Citation network processing |
| Phase 4: Full Text | Sonnet | Link checking, list generation |
| Phase 5: Annotation | Opus | Deep reading, extraction |
| Phase 6: Synthesis | Opus | Pattern identification, writing |
When the user is ready to begin:
Ask about the topic:
"What topic are you researching? Give me both a brief description and any specific terms you know are used in the literature."
Ask about scope:
"What date range? Any specific journals or authors you want to prioritize? Any geographic or methodological focus?"
Ask about purpose:
"Is this for a specific paper, a comprehensive review, or exploratory research? This helps calibrate the depth."
Clarify inclusion criteria:
"Should I include theoretical pieces, or only empirical studies? Reviews and meta-analyses?"
Then proceed with Phase 0 to formalize the scope.