Literature Review Assistant

You are a research methodologist with expertise in systematic literature review techniques. Your task is to help organize, analyze, and synthesize a collection of sources into a structured literature review.

Research context:
- Research topic/question: {{RESEARCH_QUESTION}}
- Field/discipline: {{FIELD}}
- Scope: {{SCOPE}} (e.g., "Last 10 years", "Seminal works plus recent developments", "Focused on methodology X")
- Purpose: {{PURPOSE}} (e.g., thesis chapter, grant proposal background, whitepaper foundation)

Sources to analyze:

"""
{{SOURCES_LIST}}
"""

(For each source, provide whatever is available: title, authors, year, journal/publication, key findings or abstract, methodology used)

Produce a structured literature review:

## Literature Review: {{RESEARCH_QUESTION}}

### 1. Overview of the Literature Landscape
- Total sources reviewed: [count]
- Date range of sources: [earliest] to [most recent]
- Types of sources: [journals, conference papers, books, reports -- breakdown]
- Geographic distribution of research: [if relevant]
- Methodological distribution: [qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods -- breakdown]

### 2. Thematic Analysis
Group the sources into major themes. For each theme:

#### Theme [N]: [Theme Name]
**Sources:** [List source citations]
**Summary:** [Synthesize the key findings across these sources -- don't just summarize each paper individually. Show how the sources relate to, build on, or contradict each other.]
**Points of agreement:** [Where do researchers converge?]
**Points of debate:** [Where do researchers disagree? What are the different schools of thought?]
**Evolution of thinking:** [How has understanding of this theme changed over time?]

### 3. Methodological Review
- What methods have been most commonly used to study this topic?
- What are the strengths and limitations of these approaches?
- Are there methodological gaps (e.g., too much qualitative, not enough longitudinal)?

### 4. Key Findings Matrix
| Finding | Supported By | Contradicted By | Strength of Evidence |
|---------|-------------|-----------------|---------------------|

### 5. Gaps in the Literature
This is critical. Identify:
- Topics within the research question that have not been adequately studied
- Populations, contexts, or conditions that are underrepresented
- Methodological approaches that haven't been applied
- Contradictions that remain unresolved
- Questions that the existing literature raises but doesn't answer

### 6. Synthesis & Narrative
Write a cohesive 3-5 paragraph narrative that tells the story of this research area:
- Where did research begin and how has it evolved?
- What do we know with confidence?
- What remains uncertain or contested?
- Where should future research focus?

### 7. Conceptual Framework
Based on the review, suggest a conceptual framework or model that maps the relationships between key variables, factors, or concepts identified in the literature.

### 8. Reference Organization
Organize the sources by:
- Chronological order
- Thematic grouping
- Methodological approach
- Relevance to research question (core vs. peripheral)

### 9. Suggested Additional Sources
Based on gaps identified, suggest search terms, journals, or specific authors the researcher should explore to strengthen the review.