searching-literature

Searches Scopus for scientific papers and enriches results with OpenAlex abstracts and OA links.

850|114|Updated Mar 9, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/wentorai/Research-Claw --skill searching-literature
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: searching-literature
Source: https://github.com/wentorai/Research-Claw/tree/main/skills/searching-literature
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/wentorai/Research-Claw --skill searching-literature

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

Starting a literature review means building a candidate paper list, but a personal Scopus API key only returns titles, DOIs, and citation counts—no abstracts. This Skill runs relevance-ranked Scopus searches and automatically layers in OpenAlex abstracts and open-access PDF links, so you get a usable candidate list in one step.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Scopus relevance search: Run rich queries with TITLE-ABS-KEY, boolean operators, proximity (W/n), PUBYEAR, and DOCTYPE filters, paginated automatically with citation counts included.
  • OpenAlex enrichment: Batch-fetch abstracts, OA status, and OA PDF URLs by DOI to fill the gaps the Scopus personal key cannot provide.
  • Honest coverage handling: Papers missing abstracts are flagged for title-based scoring rather than silently dropped, and the 20,000-results/week Scopus quota is respected.
  • Use Case: You are starting a review on BTK inhibitor selectivity. Run one search command to get 50 relevance-ranked papers with abstracts and OA links, then hand the list to relevance scoring.

Quick Start

Search the literature for papers on CRISPR applications in cardiomyocytes published after 2019 and return the candidate list with abstracts.

Frequently Asked Questions about searching-literature

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I search Scopus for scientific papers by keyword?

Use the rp_search tool with a Scopus query such as TITLE-ABS-KEY("CRISPR" AND cardiomyocyte) AND PUBYEAR > 2019. It paginates results by relevance, includes citation counts, and enriches each record with OpenAlex abstracts and OA links.

Why does the Scopus API not return abstracts for my search?

A personal Scopus API key only exposes the standard search view: title, DOI, EID, citation count, year, and OA flag. Abstracts, references, and forward citations return 403 errors, so this pipeline fetches abstracts from OpenAlex instead.

What is the Scopus API rate limit for literature searches?

The personal Scopus key allows 20,000 search results per week. The pipeline paginates 25 results per call, so a 50-result search costs 2 calls; budget accordingly for large sweeps.

What should I do when papers have no abstract available?

OpenAlex lacks abstracts for some closed-access papers, giving roughly 50-80% coverage. Score abstract-less papers from title, journal, and citation count, or defer them, but never silently drop them from the candidate list.

How do I narrow or broaden a Scopus literature search?

Narrow by adding AND clauses, PUBYEAR constraints, DOCTYPE(ar), or more specific TITLE-ABS-KEY terms. Broaden with OR synonyms, dropping constraints, or proximity operators like W/3 between terms.