Workflow·Research

Literature Survey

Use when the user wants a comprehensive literature survey on a topic; outputs a PDF survey with LaTeX source, 60+ real citations, figures…

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Buy it · $39 Read it before you buy $39 Written by ai4s-research · unverified publisher
Context cost
24.2k tokensestimated from the bundle, loaded when it triggers
Bundle
9 files · 96.7 kB2 scripts among them — read before you run
Licence
MITpaid listing
Last change
no release on file
Servers it uses
Noneruns standalone

What it does

Use when the user wants a comprehensive literature survey on a specific research topic. Outputs a complete PDF survey (6–20 pages, 60+ real citations, 100+ recommended) with LaTeX source, topic-specific publication figures, and a classified literature table. Single-stage, no Python runtime.

Installed, it changes the agent in these ways.

What this skill changes about the agent is not written down here yet. The listing was collected from its source, and the description is in its own SKILL.md.

Workflow

Runs a procedure end to end.

literature-reviewsurveylatexcitations
Filed under

Research

The skill itself

This is the whole product. A skill is instructions the model reads, so there is nothing behind the listing you cannot see first — the front matter loads with every session, and the body below it loads when the skill triggers.

SKILL.md8.1 kB · 160 lines
--- name: literature-survey description: Use when the user wants a comprehensive literature survey on a specific research topic. Outputs a complete PDF survey (6–20 pages, 60+ real citations, 100+ recommended) with LaTeX source, topic-specific publication figures, and a classified literature table. Single-stage, no Python runtime. ---
6# Literature Survey
7
8## Overview
9
10End-to-end literature survey builder. **Single stage, full quality from the start.** The agent (Claude Code / Cursor / Aider / Codex / …) does the entire build using its own tools (WebFetch, WebSearch, Write, Bash). This SKILL is procedure + reference playbooks + LaTeX template — no Python runtime, no LLM SDK.
11
12The substantive work is decomposed into reference playbooks under references/:
13
14| Reference | Topic |
15|---|---|
16| references/00-incremental-execution.md | how to actually do this without losing work: batch sizes, persistence, resume — **read first** |
17| references/01-bibliography-expansion.md | grow bibliography.bib to 60+ real entries (100+ recommended) via WebFetch (no memory) |
18| references/02-survey-figures.md | taxonomy / timeline / coverage-matrix / area-map figures |
19| references/03-survey-section-playbook.md | per-section structure for survey-shaped papers |
20| references/04-layout-discipline.md | tables, figures, floats, cross-refs, author + disclosure footnote |
21| references/05-quality-gate.md | self-check before delivery |
22
23**Read the relevant reference _before_ writing, not after.** The full pass does not fit in a single turn — references/00-incremental-execution.md is the only execution mode that completes.
24
25## When to Use
26
27- User asks for a "survey" / "review" on a specific topic.
28- User has a research topic and wants a structured map of the field with citations.
29- User needs background reading curated for a thesis chapter or grant section.
30
31## When NOT to Use
32
33- User wants original research with experiments → paper-writer.
34- User wants only an outline / topic exploration → research-explorer.
35- User wants experiment code → experiment-suite.
36- Topic is too broad (e.g., "all of AI") — narrow it before starting.
37
38## Workflow
39
40### Step 1 — Understand the topic and scope
41
42Confirm with the user:
43
44- **Topic** — specific research area (e.g., "federated learning in healthcare"). If too broad, narrow it first.
45- **Scope** — broad survey of a field vs. focused review of a sub-area.
46- **Citation budget** — minimum 60 unique entries; aim for 100+ (push higher for a broad survey).
47- **Language** — default Chinese in conversation; the LaTeX paper is English unless requested otherwise.
48
49Always tell the user that human review by a domain expert is recommended before publication or production use.
50
51### Step 2 — Set up the run directory
52
53```bash
54TOPIC="<topic>"
55SLUG=$(python3 -c "import re,hashlib,sys; t=sys.argv[1]; n=re.sub(r'[\\s_]+','-',re.sub(r'[^\\w\\s-]','',t.lower().strip())).strip('-')[:40].rstrip('-'); h=hashlib.sha1(t.encode()).hexdigest()[:8]; print(f'{n}-{h}')" "$TOPIC")
56TS=$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H%M%S)
57RUN=output/literature-survey/$SLUG/$TS/survey_paper
58
59mkdir -p "$RUN/sections" "$RUN/figures"
60cp -r literature-survey/templates/survey/. "$RUN/"
61ln -sfn "$TS" "output/literature-survey/$SLUG/latest"
62```
63
64In commands below $RUN = output/literature-survey/<slug>/latest/survey_paper.
65
66### Step 3 — Build the survey (REQUIRED — this is the whole job)
67
68Open references/00-incremental-execution.md first. Then carry out the five tracks below across many turns, persisting state to $RUN/ after every batch.
69
70#### 3.1 Bibliography — 60+ real entries (100+ recommended)
71
72**Open:** references/01-bibliography-expansion.md.
73
74**First (§0 of that reference): read the topic's temporal/scope intent and pick
75a search posture.** AI4S and similarly fast-moving fields default to at least
7660% of references from the current calendar year and previous two years. If
77the topic names a year or says "latest/recent", use the stricter recency-led
78profile. Historical/theoretical surveys retain a timeline-spanning exception.
79
80Then plan **12–20** query angles, weighted by the posture. For each angle: WebSearch → triage → WebFetch each kept candidate's abstract URL → extract canonical title/authors/year/venue/url → append a BibTeX entry to $RUN/bibliography.bib. **Every entry must originate from a URL fetched in this session.** Memory entries forbidden.
81
82**Hard stop:** do not draft prose until the bibliography has ≥ 60 entries
83(100+ recommended) and passes check_bibliography_freshness.py for the
84recorded profile.
85
86#### 3.2 Figures — 6–10 survey-shaped
87
88**Open:** references/02-survey-figures.md.
89
90A survey is defined by how well it organises a field. Choose 6–10
91topic-specific figures from the families that the evidence supports:
92
93- taxonomy / classification diagram when the field has defensible branches;
94- timeline when chronology explains a change in the field;
95- area / capability matrix when comparable coverage data exists;
96- architecture / mechanism diagram when a shared mechanism needs explanation;
97- quantitative trend plots when extracted data supports them;
98- citation network or paradigm comparison when the relationship itself matters.
99
100Never force a family to fill a slot. Save each figure into $RUN/figures/ with
101reproducible source alongside.
102
103#### 3.3 Sections — survey-shaped prose
104
105**Open:** references/03-survey-section-playbook.md.
106
107Survey sections differ in shape from research-paper sections. Order: introduction → background → methods (themed survey) → discussion → conclusion → related work → **abstract last**.
108
109#### 3.4 Layout discipline
110
111**Open:** references/04-layout-discipline.md.
112
113Put each figure or table in the section whose prose first introduces or
114interprets it, immediately after that paragraph in the source. Use standard
115LaTeX floats with booktabs for tables and choose [htbp], [tbp], or [p]
116from the artifact's size and narrative role; do not force a common position or
117section. Use ~\cite{} and ~\ref{}. Let LaTeX assign citation, figure,
118table, equation, and section numbers from 1 in first-appearance order; never
119type display numbers manually. Set \author{AI4S Agent} with a \thanks
120footnote that **always** recommends human review. Surveys carry no simulated
121numerical experiments, so do **not** include a simulated clause.
122
123#### 3.5 Compile + quality gate
124
125```bash
126cd "$RUN"
127pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex
128bibtex main
129pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex
130pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex
131```
132
133**Open:** references/05-quality-gate.md. Survey-specific targets: ≥ 60 bib
134entries (100+ recommended), ≥ 6 pages, and only figures justified by the topic's
135evidence.
136
137If a gate cannot honestly be met (e.g., the field is genuinely small), say so explicitly. Do not pad.
138
139### Step 4 — Deliver
140
141Report:
142
1431. output/literature-survey/<slug>/latest/survey_paper/main.pdf
1442. output/literature-survey/<slug>/latest/survey_paper/ — complete LaTeX project (reproducible)
1453. output/literature-survey/<slug>/latest/literature_table.md — classified literature table (write this alongside the bib build)
1464. Stats per the report format in references/05-quality-gate.md.
147
148## Cross-skill data flow (path convention)
149
150A downstream skill (e.g., paper-writer) computing the same slug for the same topic will look here:
151
152- output/literature-survey/<slug>/latest/survey_paper/bibliography.bib — bib starting point.
153
154## Important rules
155
156- **No LLM SDK in this skill.** No import anthropic / import openai. The skill is SKILL.md + references + LaTeX template only.
157- **No fabricated citations.** Every BibTeX entry must trace back to a URL fetched this session. Real or weaker claim — never fake reference.
158- **Honest stop > padding.** If the field is too small for 60 real citations, say so to the user instead of inventing entries.
159- **Survey scope** is 6–20 pages with 60–150 references (100+ recommended). For longer or shorter formats, adjust scope explicitly with the user up front.
160
In the file
SKILL.md1,091 words
Files9
LicenceMIT
Why you can read it

Nothing in a skill executes. The client loads the text and the model follows it, so a skill can be audited the way a runbook is — by reading it.

What it costs in context

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≈80
always loaded
The name and description, so the model knows the skill exists and when to reach for it.
24,095
on trigger
The instruction body and 8 supporting files, read only when the skill fires.
12.1%
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Ten skills this size would take about 121% of the window before you open a file.
050k100k150k200k context window

24.2k tokens, estimated from the bundle at four bytes to the token, held for the rest of the session once it triggers. Heavy. Teams tend to install this one per project rather than globally, and load it only when the job comes up.

Servers bill, skills cost

A server charges by the month. A skill charges once per session, in context, and then keeps charging it for as long as the session lives.

Before and after

The same question, put to the same model twice: once as it comes, and once with these instructions loaded.

No worked example has been published for this skill yet.

Adoption
Installsnone yet
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The procedure it runs

The procedure has not been published here. It is in the skill’s own SKILL.md, which its author has not sent to the marketplace yet.

Prose, not code

These steps are written for a model to follow, not executed by a runtime. It can still be told to skip one, and it will say so when it does.

Servers it uses

None. This skill calls no MCP servers at all.

Everything it needs is in the instructions, so it works in a project with nothing connected — the model reads the file and changes how it works with what it can already reach.

It writes no files and reaches no network. All it changes is how the model reasons and writes.

What it asks for
Writes filesno
Network accessno

Read from the allowed-tools line of this skill’s own SKILL.md. A skill grants no permissions of its own — it can only ask for tools your client already has.

What it will not do

Every skill is narrow, and the useful ones say where they stop. These are the jobs this one is the wrong tool for.

What this skill is not for has not been published here. Nothing is implied by that: it is a section the author has not filled in.

What is in the bundle

9 files, 96.7 kB on disk. Mostly text — the instructions the model reads — with 2 scripts in it that your client would run only if the instructions tell it to.

  • SKILL.md8.1 kB
  • references/00-incremental-execution.md7.8 kB
  • references/01-bibliography-expansion.md13.3 kB
  • references/02-survey-figures.md27.7 kB
  • references/03-survey-section-playbook.md9.3 kB
  • references/04-layout-discipline.md10.3 kB
  • references/05-quality-gate.md15.8 kB
  • templates/survey/check_bibliography_freshness.py3.8 kB
  • templates/survey/compile.sh0.6 kB
What is not in it

A skill installs nothing and depends on nothing: it is a folder your client reads. This one carries 2 scripts beside the text, so the bundle is 9 files you can review in full before installing. The MIT licence covers the templates and examples as well as the instructions.

Install

Installing copies the bundle into your project. Nothing runs at install time — the files sit on disk until the model reads them.

$39 once
Literature Survey · MIT · ai4s-research
one-time
Price$39 once
LicenceMIT — the author’s, unchanged by this purchase
Paid throughStripe, once, on the card you add at the checkout
Keeps workingfor good — the files are yours once they are on disk
Updatesevery update its author ships, delivered through this account

You can read the whole bundle before paying — the SKILL.md above is the product, not a preview of it. What the money buys is the delivery: the folder packaged and handed to your machine by key, every update its author ships, and our support if it does not do what this listing says. The terms of use are MIT, set by the author and unchanged by buying it here.

Payment runs through Stripe, on a page like this one rather than a redirect. Once there is an account it joins the same mcprush invoice as everything else you run, so there is never a second card to enter.

Which clients pick it up on their own

A skill is a folder of text. A client with a skills folder reads it without being told; everywhere else the same text works, it is just handed to the model rather than found.

Claude Code.claude/skills/
Claude Desktop
ChatGPT
Cursor.cursor/skills/
VS Code.github/skills/
Codex CLI.agents/skills/
Gemini CLI.gemini/skills/
Grok.grok/skills/
Zed.agents/skills/
Windsurf.windsurf/skills/
Agent SDK.claude/skills/
HTTP / API
This release
Versionnot versioned
Publishedno release date on file
Price$39
Referenceai4s-research/literature-survey

Versions

Its author publishes no version number, so there is nothing here to pin to: what you install is the folder as it stands today. Instructions change more often than APIs do — a skill can be rewritten entirely without anything it depends on moving.

v
  • No earlier releases have been published to the marketplace.
Pinning

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Reviews

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Who wrote it

AI
ai4s-research

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