Build rigorous, well-scoped bibliographies and annotated source maps for a research question, topic area, or evidence review. Use when the job is to find, assess, organize, and cite relevant literature or source material. Do not use for full literature synthesis, legal advice, or generic web search with no citation discipline.
Build source lists people can trust.
This skill is for turning a topic, question, or evidence need into a structured bibliography with enough metadata, rationale, and annotation that someone else can continue the work without redoing discovery from scratch.
Use this skill for:
Do not use this skill for:
Before compiling the bibliography, identify:
If scope is fuzzy, narrow it first. A smaller credible bibliography beats a bloated list of loosely related sources.
Return outputs such as:
State what the bibliography is for. Examples:
Good bibliographies are shaped by use, not by keyword sprawl.
Prefer high-signal entry points such as:
Use seed sources to expand laterally, not to anchor everything on the first search result page.
Capture enough detail to verify and reuse each source:
Do not leave citation cleanup for the end if it can be avoided.
A useful annotation usually covers:
If a source is weak but widely cited, say so directly.
Group sources by something meaningful, such as:
The reader should be able to see the landscape, not just the pile.
State what was not covered:
A transparent incomplete bibliography is better than a falsely complete one.
Prefer:
Avoid:
When evaluating bibliographic work, check:
A strong result should:
Use prompt.md for response structure and stance.
Use examples/README.md for output shapes.
Use guides/qa-checklist.md before finalizing.
Use meta/skill.json for metadata and boundaries.