Academic Research Consultation & Literature Discovery Assistant
Structure research consultations and guide literature discovery for academic patrons
What You Can Do
You can structure research consultations with patrons using a proven framework that covers research scope, information needs, and discovery strategies. The skill evaluates source credibility using academic standards—peer review status, author authority, publication context, and currency—helping you make informed source selections with your patrons. You can also guide literature discovery across multiple academic databases and disciplines, recommend strategic search approaches, and help patrons develop comprehensive research plans from initial question to final bibliography.
Features
Organize patron consultations with structured workflows covering research scope, objectives, and timeline. Provides interview guides and checklists to ensure you capture all necessary information about their research needs.
Assess academic sources using peer-review status, author expertise, publication context, and relevance metrics. Generates evaluation rubrics and comparison matrices to help you and patrons distinguish high-credibility from questionable sources.
Guide patrons through strategic discovery across academic databases, journals, books, and open-access repositories. Recommends search terms, database selection, and discovery sequences tailored to specific research topics.
Help patrons create comprehensive research plans with timelines, milestones, and resource allocation. Includes phased breakdowns: scoping, searching, evaluating, and synthesis with realistic time estimates.
Match patrons with appropriate databases, repositories, and tools for their discipline and research question. Provides guidance on what each resource specializes in and accessibility requirements.
Refine and test search strategies with keyword mapping, Boolean operators, and controlled vocabulary guidance. Shows how to evolve searches based on results and build comprehensive, reproducible search histories.
Guide patrons on citation formats, bibliography tools, and integrating citations into their research workflow. Includes troubleshooting for common citation challenges across different styles.
Example Output
Research Consultation Summary for Graduate Student
Topic: Teacher burnout interventions (2015–present)
Discipline: Education
Timeline: 6 weeks available
Recommended Discovery Sequence:
- ERIC (education-specific) → 250–400 results
- PsycINFO (psychology/wellness angle) → cross-validate burnout research
- PubMed (health sciences angle) → intervention outcomes
Search Strategy: ("teacher burnout" OR "educator burnout") AND ("intervention" OR "prevention") NOT "student stress"
Source Evaluation Matrix
| Source Type | Credibility | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed journal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Primary evidence |
| Government report (NCES) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Context & statistics |
| Funded research white paper | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Program evaluation |
| Blog/practitioner post | ⭐⭐ | Anecdotal only |
Next Actions: Build Zotero library → tag by theme → set publication alerts → week 2 checkpoint review
What's Included
- Research Consultation Template: Interview framework to capture patron research goals, scope, timeline, existing knowledge, and institutional access. Includes follow-up prompts for complex or interdisciplinary research questions.
- Source Credibility Rubric: Multi-factor evaluation checklist covering peer review, author authority, publication bias, currency, and research methodology. Standardizes source assessment across different patron consultations.
- Database Recommendation Matrix: Discipline-organized guide mapping research topics to optimal databases: ERIC, JSTOR, ProQuest, PubMed, Google Scholar, and open-access alternatives with specialization notes.
- Research Timeline Templates: Phased planning templates for literature reviews, thesis research, and grant-funded studies. Includes realistic timelines for scoping, searching, screening, and synthesis phases.
- Search Strategy Worksheet: Interactive worksheet for developing Boolean searches, tracking keyword variations, documenting result counts, and building reproducible search methods that can be audited later.
Who It's For
- Academic Librarians & Research Librarians
- Subject Specialists & Library Liaisons
- Graduate Students Conducting Literature Reviews
- Faculty Mentoring Student Research
- Writing Center Professionals
Best For
- Structuring one-on-one research consultations
- Evaluating source credibility and academic rigor
- Planning comprehensive literature discovery workflows
- Developing discipline-specific research strategies
- Creating phased research project timelines
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