# Lit Review Assistant

Search, summarize, and synthesize economics literature

- Repository: https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills (4869 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: see repository
- Last updated: 2026-10-30
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-review-assistant -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-review-assistant -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-review-assistant -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills --skill lit-review-assistant -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills`

## Description

Search, summarize, and synthesize economics literature

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Literature Review Assistant

## Purpose

This skill helps economists conduct literature reviews by structuring searches, summarizing papers, and synthesizing findings. It provides templates for organizing literature and identifying research gaps.

## When to Use

- Starting a literature review for a new project
- Finding related work for a paper's introduction
- Synthesizing existing evidence on a topic
- Identifying gaps in the literature

## Instructions

### Step 1: Define the Research Domain

Ask the user:
1. What is your specific research question?
2. What's the scope? (Narrow field survey vs. cross-disciplinary review)
3. What databases do you have access to? (JSTOR, EconLit, Google Scholar, NBER)
4. What time period is relevant?
5. Are there seminal papers to start from?

### Step 2: Structure the Search

Help define search terms:
1. **Primary terms**: Core concepts (e.g., "minimum wage", "employment")
2. **Methodological filters**: (RCT, IV, difference-in-differences)
3. **Outcome terms**: What effects are measured
4. **Geographic/temporal scope**: If relevant

### Step 3: Organize and Synthesize

Create a structured summary for each paper:
- Citation
- Research question
- Data and methods
- Key findings
- Limitations
- How it relates to user's project

### Step 4: Identify Patterns and Gaps

- What do papers agree on?
- Where are disagreements?
- What questions remain unanswered?
- What methods haven't been applied?

## Example Output: Literature Summary Template

```markdown
# Literature Review: [TOPIC]

## Search Strategy

**Databases:** EconLit, NBER, Google Scholar, SSRN
**Date range:** 2010-2024
**Search terms:** 
- ("minimum wage" OR "wage floor") AND (employment OR jobs)
- ("minimum wage") AND ("difference-in-differences" OR "DiD")

**Inclusion criteria:**
- Peer-reviewed or NBER working papers
- Focused on [specific outcome]
- Uses causal identification strategy

---

## Seminal Papers

The rest: https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills/blob/HEAD/skills/09-meleantonio-awesome-econ-ai-stuff/_skills/literature/lit-review-assistant/SKILL.md