Auto Deep Research Guide

• Parse the initial research question into its core concepts
• Identify the disciplinary context and relevant subfields
• Generate a preliminary topic map with major themes and subtopics
• Formulate 5-10 seed questions that span the topic's breadth
• Establish depth targets for each subtopic (survey, working knowledge, expert)

Phase 2: Breadth-First Exploration

• Execute seed questions as searches across academic databases
• Collect and rank results by relevance, citation impact, and recency
• Read abstracts and identify the most informative sources for each subtopic
• Build a preliminary bibliography organized by subtopic
• Identify key authors, institutions, and publication venues for the topic

Phase 3: Depth-First Investigation

• For each subtopic, select the highest-quality sources for detailed analysis
• Extract key claims, evidence, and methodological details
• Identify points of consensus and disagreement among sources
• Note methodological trends and their evolution over time
• Generate follow-up questions based on gaps in understanding

Phase 4: Iterative Refinement

• Use follow-up questions to drive additional targeted searches
• Seek out primary sources cited by secondary sources
• Look for contradictory evidence or alternative perspectives
• Update the topic map with newly discovered themes
• Continue until reaching diminishing returns (saturation)

Phase 5: Synthesis and Reporting

• Organize findings into a coherent narrative structure
• Distinguish between established knowledge, active debates, and speculation
• Provide evidence quality assessments for key claims
• Identify the most impactful open questions and research opportunities
• Generate a structured report with full citations

Search Strategy Automation

The skill automates several sophisticated search strategies:

Query Expansion

• Use LLMs to generate semantically related query variations
• Apply field-specific vocabulary and acronym expansion
• Include both current terminology and historical terms for the same concepts
• Generate queries in multiple languages when the topic has global research activity
• Adapt query complexity based on the number of results returned

Source Triangulation

• Search multiple independent databases to avoid source bias
• Cross-reference findings from different research traditions
• Check for replication of key findings across independent studies
• Weight evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses more heavily
• Identify and note where evidence comes from a single research group

Citation Chain Analysis

• Follow backward citations from key papers to find foundational work
• Follow forward citations to find the latest developments
• Identify citation clusters indicating distinct research communities
• Detect bridge papers connecting different research threads
• Map the chronological evolution of ideas through citation chains

Report Generation

The final output is a structured research report:

Report Structure

• Executive summary with key findings and confidence levels
• Historical background tracing the topic's development
• Current state of knowledge organized by subtopic
• Methodological landscape describing dominant and emerging approaches
• Key debates and unresolved questions with evidence for each position
• Future directions and promising research opportunities
• Complete bibliography organized by subtopic and relevance

Quality Indicators

• Each claim is annotated with its evidence strength (strong, moderate, limited)
• Conflicting evidence is presented alongside each other with analysis
• Gaps in the literature are explicitly flagged
• The report distinguishes between empirical findings and theoretical arguments
• Sources are evaluated for potential bias or conflicts of interest

Customization Options

The deep research process can be customized for different use cases:

Grant Proposal Background - Emphasize recent developments, open questions, and potential impact Literature Review - Emphasize comprehensiveness, systematic coverage, and gap identification New Field Entry - Emphasize foundational concepts, key terminology, and landmark papers Thesis Background - Emphasize the specific niche within the broader field and its context Policy Brief - Emphasize applied findings, real-world implications, and evidence quality

Integration with Research-Claw

This skill leverages and feeds into other Research-Claw capabilities:

• Uses literature search skills for database queries
• Feeds results to paper-to-agent skill for detailed paper analysis
• Outputs structured bibliographies compatible with citation management skills
• Connects with writing skills for drafting review sections
• Stores research reports in the local knowledge base for future reference

Best Practices

• Always start with a clear, well-defined research question
• Set a time budget and scope limit before beginning to prevent endless exploration
• Review and redirect the automated process periodically rather than running fully unattended
• Verify key claims by reading the original sources, not just relying on extracted summaries
• Save intermediate results at each phase to enable resuming if interrupted
• Use the generated report as a starting point for human analysis, not as a finished product