lit-review
Summarize academic papers, extract key findings, and identify research gaps
Install / Use
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-reviewInstalls into whichever agent you are using.
SKILL.md
Installable skill definition
Quality Score
Category
Content & MediaSupported Platforms
Our assessment of lit-review
lit-review scores 84/100 on our quality scale, 365th of 574 Content & Media skills we index.
Its SKILL.md is 3.3 KB long, well organised into 14 sections with 1 code example: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.
With 4,360 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.
Maintenance, license and trust
- The repository was last updated 3 days ago, so lit-review is actively maintained.
- No license is declared. By default that means all rights are reserved: you can read it, but reusing or redistributing it is not clearly permitted. Ask the author before building on it commercially.
- Its trust signals score 88/100, with 1 caution from licensing, adoption, age or documentation. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.
lit-review compared with similar skills
All 4 of these similar skills score higher than lit-review; compare them before choosing.
| Skill | Score | Stars | Updated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lit-review (this skill)by brycewang-stanford | 84 | 4.4k | 3d ago | SKILL.md |
| siyuanby siyuan-note | 100 | 46.5k | today | MCP Server |
| algorithmic-artby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 4d ago | SKILL.md |
| pptxby anthropics | 100 | 177.9k | 4d ago | SKILL.md |
| designby nextlevelbuilder | 100 | 130.2k | 5d ago | SKILL.md |
Frequently asked questions
- How do I install lit-review?
- Run
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-review. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent. - Which AI agents does lit-review work with?
- It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
- Is lit-review safe to use?
- It declares no license and scores 88/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
- Is lit-review still maintained?
- The repository was last updated 3 days ago, so lit-review is actively maintained.
Skill content
View source on GitHubname: lit-review description: Summarize academic papers, extract key findings, and identify research gaps
Literature Review Assistant
When the user provides a paper (PDF, URL, or description), help them systematically analyze and document it for their research.
Paper Summary Template
When summarizing a paper, extract and organize the following:
1. Basic Information
- Citation: Authors (Year). "Title." Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages.
- Paper Type: Empirical / Theoretical / Review / Method
- Field: Finance / Economics / Accounting / Management
2. Research Question
- What is the main question or hypothesis?
- What gap in the literature does it address?
3. Data & Sample
- Data sources: (e.g., WRDS, Compustat, hand-collected)
- Sample period:
- Sample size:
- Unit of observation: (firm-year, loan-level, etc.)
- Key filters/restrictions:
4. Methodology
- Identification strategy: (DiD, RDD, IV, matching, etc.)
- Main specification: Describe the regression model
- Key variables:
- Dependent variable(s):
- Independent variable(s) of interest:
- Controls:
- Fixed effects:
5. Main Findings
- List 2-4 key results with magnitudes when available
- Economic significance (not just statistical)
6. Robustness & Limitations
- What robustness checks do they perform?
- Potential concerns or limitations noted by authors
- Your assessment of identification concerns
7. Relevance to My Research
- How does this relate to your current project?
- What can you cite this paper for?
- Any data/methods you could adopt?
Quick Commands
When the user says:
- "summarize this paper" - Use the full template above
- "quick summary" - Provide only: citation, research question, main finding, and relevance
- "compare papers" - Create a comparison table across multiple papers
- "find gaps" - Identify what questions remain unanswered
- "cite for" - Suggest how to cite this paper for a specific claim
Comparison Table Format
When comparing multiple papers on a topic:
| Aspect | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | |--------|---------|---------|---------| | Research Question | | | | | Sample/Period | | | | | Identification | | | | | Main Finding | | | | | Limitation | | | |
Literature Gap Analysis
When asked to identify gaps, consider:
- Unexplored settings: Are there contexts where this hasn't been studied?
- Mechanism: Is the channel well-identified or just a black box?
- Heterogeneity: Which cross-sectional variations are unexplored?
- External validity: Does it generalize beyond the specific sample?
- Time period: Are findings stable across different periods/regimes?
- Data limitations: What would better data reveal?
BibTeX Generation
When summarizing, also provide a BibTeX entry:
@article{AuthorYear,
author = {Last1, First1 and Last2, First2},
title = {Paper Title},
journal = {Journal Name},
year = {YYYY},
volume = {XX},
number = {X},
pages = {XXX--XXX},
doi = {10.xxxx/xxxxx}
}
Notes
- Always note if a paper is published vs. working paper
- Flag if results are controversial or have been challenged
- Note any replication concerns if known
- For NBER/SSRN working papers, check if a published version exists
Related Skills
siyuan
46.5kAn open-source, privacy-first, self-hosted knowledge workspace where humans and AI agents work together 开源、隐私优先、自托管的知识工作空间,让人与智能体在此协作
algorithmic-art
177.9kCreating algorithmic art using p5.js with seeded randomness and interactive parameter exploration. Use this when users request creating art using code, generative art, algorithmic art, flow fields, or particle systems.
pptx
177.9kUse this skill any time a .pptx or .potx file is involved in any way — as input, output, or both. This includes: creating slide decks, pitch decks, or presentations; reading, parsing, or extracting text from any .pptx or .potx file (even if the extracted content will be used elsewhere, like in an em…
design
130.2kComprehensive design skill: brand identity, design tokens, UI styling, logo generation (55 styles, Gemini, Atlas Cloud, or MuAPI AI), corporate identity program (50 deliverables, CIP mockups), HTML presentations (Chart.js), banner design (22 styles, social/ads/web/print), icon design (15 styles, SVG…
Languages
Trust signals
From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.
