Rigorous literature search
Use this workflow when you need a defensible account of how papers were found, selected and used. Begin with the research question and agreed review protocol; choose sources, date ranges and checks to suit that design.
What Qiongli provides
The native MCP supports bounded searches through configured OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Crossref, PubMed and arXiv providers. qiongli_search_plan proposes the search route and queries; qiongli_literature_search executes provider requests and reports normalized results and diagnostics. See provider setup.
The Host can supplement this with its available native search and authorized local materials. Citation expansion, full-text retrieval and screening still need actual sources and suitable tools. A query plan, URL or metadata record is not a retrieved paper. Do not treat the old Python adapter slots as installed native tools.
Keep the search trace
For a formal review, retain the applicable outputs: search_strategy.md, search_log.md, search_results.csv, dedup_log.csv, snowball_log.md, bibliography.bib, screening/full_text.md and retrieval_manifest.csv. Record the service, query, date, filters, exclusions and failures. Carry stable citekeys and source locations into extraction and synthesis. Saving follows the project's existing preview and approval process.
Assess coverage without overstating it
No provider can prove absolute completeness. Use checks that fit the protocol:
| Check | What it can tell you |
|---|---|
| known-item recall | Whether the strategy finds papers that should be included |
| Concept and source coverage | Whether each required query block and database was searched, with zero-hit or unavailable paths explained |
| duplicate saturation | Whether additional queries mainly return records already seen; this alone does not prove completeness |
| Citation follow-up | Whether required backward and forward checks were performed and logged |
| full-text access coverage | Which sought reports were actually retrieved and readable |
Suggestions in native_fulltext_queries still need to be executed by the Host. Keep candidate URLs and access dates. Zotero attachment verification also requires checking the actual attachment: a matching library item does not prove a readable PDF is available, and a readable PDF does not by itself support a particular claim.
Record evidence_limit for each extracted claim: full_text, abstract_only, metadata_only or unavailable, as supported by the material actually read. Retain version details when a preprint differs from the published article.
Connect findings to the Graph
After reviewing the extraction, propose structured claims and source links. Preserve uncertainty and unresolved conflicts when saving them. The Research Graph helps inspect those saved relationships; it does not replace screening decisions or establish search recall.