research-literature

Literature Search

Conduct a systematic, incremental literature search.

Process

1. For epoch 1: perform a broad search across the research domain
2. For later epochs: read prior sources.json and gap-analysis.md to focus on gaps
3. For each source found, extract structured citation data
4. Assess relevance: high (directly addresses question), medium (related), low (tangential)
5. Rate methodology quality for empirical sources
6. Identify knowledge gaps, conflicts, and emerging themes

Incremental Search Strategy

• Never duplicate sources already found in prior epochs
• Focus search on gaps identified in prior convergence checks
• Broaden search terms if coverage is low
• Narrow search if too many low-relevance results

Outputs

• sources.json — structured source data with citation info, key findings, methodology notes
• prior-state.json — cumulative knowledge state assessment

Quality Criteria

• At least 3 distinct sources per epoch
• Each source has attributed findings
• Methodology is documented for empirical sources
• Knowledge gaps are explicitly identified