General-purpose research skill for establishing state of the art, defining concepts, and collecting references for thesis chapters. Produces structured references.md files with data tables and bib-key lookups.
A unified research skill for gathering state-of-the-art context, theoretical foundations, and specific references for thesis chapters. This skill merges the capabilities of the former literature_review and theory_context skills.
thesis references1b7df790-7858-4fc8-879c-39f41238c4aeUse this skill when:
Do NOT use this skill for extracting details from the author's own papers (001)). Use paper_analysis instead.
Do NOT use this skill for deep extraction from review articles (002)). Use review_analysis instead. This skill identifies relevant reviews; review_analysis extracts from them.
source_registry first to obtain the Review Articles (002)) source IDs.Research follows two phases: start narrow with curated reviews, then widen to all sources for gap-filling.
Query only Review Articles (002) source IDs from source_registry) to establish the big picture, consensus definitions, and structural context.
mcp_notebooklm_notebook_query(
notebook_id="1b7df790-7858-4fc8-879c-39f41238c4ae",
query="<your question>",
source_ids=<review_002_ids> # only the ~8 review source IDs
)
Why reviews first? Reviews are curated, authoritative, and provide the "big picture." Starting here ensures the foundation is built on consensus before drilling into specifics.
For follow-up questions, clarifications, or finding specific papers that reviews mentioned but didn't detail — query all sources by simply omitting source_ids (defaults to the entire notebook).
mcp_notebooklm_notebook_query(
notebook_id="1b7df790-7858-4fc8-879c-39f41238c4ae",
query="<your follow-up or specific question>",
conversation_id=<previous_conversation_id> # maintains context from Phase 1
)
Why omit source_ids? With 170+ general references, passing them individually is impractical. Omitting the parameter lets NotebookLM search the entire corpus, which naturally includes reviews + all specific papers.
| Phase | Use when... | source_ids |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (Reviews) | Establishing concepts, definitions, state of the art, structural guidance | review_002_ids only |
| Phase 2 (All) | Finding specific papers, getting arXiv numbers, clarifying details, filling gaps | Omit entirely |
Use conversation_id (returned by each query) for follow-up questions. This is especially useful for the Phase 1 → Phase 2 transition:
conversation_idconversation_id, omit source_idsEvery reference identified during research falls into one of two categories:
| Type | Symbol | Meaning | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Source | ✅ | Paper is an individual source in the NotebookLM notebook | Content is directly queryable; we can extract details, equations, and context |
| Referenced Source | ❌ | Paper is only cited within a review or other notebook source | Content is NOT directly queryable; we must cite via the review that discusses it |
source_registry — this gives the full list of notebook sources with titles (usually containing arXiv IDs)When writing thesis text, we can only paraphrase and build arguments from sources we can actually read. For ❌ Referenced Sources, we rely on the review's discussion of that paper. The "Cited In" column in the data table tells us which review(s) to query for context about that paper.
paper_lookup SkillFor ❌ Referenced Sources, use the paper_lookup skill to retrieve additional information. Common uses:
paper_lookup Recipe 1 (InspireHEP get_paper_details)paper_lookup Recipe 2 (arXiv download_paper → read_paper)paper_lookup Recipe 4 (InspireHEP get_bibtex)paper_lookup Recipe 3 (InspireHEP get_paper_figures + download)⚠️ Guardrails: External lookups are a triage tool, not a content source. Use them to decide whether to cite a paper, not to write based on an abstract alone. For building arguments, always rely on the review(s) that discuss the paper (listed in "Cited In"), or add the paper to the NotebookLM notebook as a full source.
After Phases 1–2 identify the key references, query NotebookLM for figures from the literature that could illustrate thesis content:
mcp_notebooklm_notebook_query(
notebook_id="1b7df790-7858-4fc8-879c-39f41238c4ae",
query="Which figures from the papers we discussed are considered
canonical or frequently-referenced illustrations of [topic]?
For each, state the paper (arXiv ID), figure number,
and what it shows.",
conversation_id=<previous_conversation_id>
)
Record figure candidates in references.md (see Figure Candidates Table in the Output section). These feed into section_drafting Step 4b and paper_lookup Recipe 3 for download.
When citing a claim or result, follow this priority order:
002) prefix) — they provide authoritative, synthesized context that is directly queryable002)) when available — these give us direct content accessRule: PhD theses and unpublished preprints must NEVER be the sole citation for a specific claim. Always pair with the original peer-reviewed paper.
| Source Type | Reliability | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Published books (Hooper, Dodelson) | ✅ Fully reliable | Can be cited as sole reference for standard results and derivations |
| PhD theses (e.g., Pinetti 2021) | ⚠️ Not peer-reviewed | Cite for structural guidance, but always pair with original peer-reviewed paper |
| Large preprints (e.g., Cirelli 2024) | ⚠️ Widely cited but unpublished | Acceptable as review reference; complement with original papers for specific claims |
Example citation pattern (LaTeX):
The NFW profile~\cite{Navarro:1996gj} is the standard parametrization
for CDM halos (see~\cite{Cirelli:2024ssz} for a review).
Here Cirelli:2024ssz is ✅ (we can query it for details), while Navarro:1996gj is ❌ (cited within Cirelli). Both are cited, but the review provides processable context.
Granular Querying: Never ask for an entire chapter at once. Break requests by sub-section (e.g., "1.1 Cosmological Context", "1.2 Particle Nature").
Specific Prompt Engineering:
Follow-up Queries: Use conversation_id across both phases. For example:
source_ids=<review_ids>)source_ids)references.mdSave to chapter_XX/references.md. Follow the structure in resources/references_structure.md:
Include as Section 4 of references.md. Format:
| Paper Name | Bib Key | In NB | Cited In |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section Header | |||
| Planck 2018 VI | Aghanim:2018eyx | ✅ | — |
| NFW Profile | Navarro:1996gj | ❌ | Cirelli, Hooper, Pinetti |
| Some missing paper | N/A | ❌ | Cirelli |
Column definitions:
bibliography.bib (or use InspireHEP MCP). N/A = needs adding.Bib key lookup procedure:
bibliography.bib for the arXiv number using: grep_search(query="<arxiv_number>", SearchPath="bibliography.bib", Includes=["*.bib"])@article{ or @book{ etc.)mcp_inspirehep_get_bibtex to fetch the entry and append to bibliography.bibProvenance lookup procedure:
source_registry outputIf Phase 3 identified relevant figures, include as Section 5 of references.md:
| Figure | Paper | Bib Key | Description | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fig. 1 | arXiv:XXXX.XXXXX | Author:2020abc | Rotation curve of NGC 6503 | 1.1.1 |
| Fig. 3 | arXiv:YYYY.YYYYY | Author:2022def | DM density profiles comparison | 1.2.2 |
Column definitions:
bibliography.bib lookupThese candidates are consumed by section_drafting Step 4b, which attempts download via paper_lookup Recipe 3.
REQUIRED: After producing references.md, use the knowledge skill (save mode) to persist key insights to .agent/knowledge/. The knowledge skill defines the standard file format (YAML frontmatter + body) and handles deduplication.
"List the most relevant review articles and books on Indirect Detection of Dark Matter. For each, explain why it is relevant.""Provide a list of specific papers establishing limits on neutrino masses (e.g., Tremaine-Gunn), including arXiv numbers and a summary of the finding.""Provide the mathematical definition of the NFW density profile and explain its parameters using standard references."outline.md to identify sub-topics for Chapter 1.chapter_01/references.md with data table..agent/knowledge/.