academic-research-writer

# Academic Research Writer

This skill enables creation of high-quality academic research documents with proper scholarly standards, verified peer-reviewed sources, and IEEE-format citations.

## Core Principles

1. **Academic Rigor**: Follow scholarly writing conventions and maintain objectivity
2. **Source Verification**: Use only peer-reviewed, credible academic sources
3. **Proper Citation**: Generate accurate IEEE-format references
4. **Research Integrity**: Ensure all claims are supported by verified sources

## Workflow

### 1. Understanding Requirements

Clarify the research document type and requirements:

- Document type (research paper, literature review, thesis chapter, etc.)
- Research topic and scope
- Target length
- Specific guidelines (institution, journal, conference)
- Required sections
- Deadline considerations

### 2. Research Planning

Develop a research strategy:

- Identify key research questions
- Define search terms and keywords
- Determine relevant academic databases (Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, ACM Digital Library, ScienceDirect)
- Establish inclusion/exclusion criteria for sources
- Plan document structure

### 3. Source Discovery and Verification

**Finding Sources:**

Use web_search to find peer-reviewed sources from:
- Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)
- IEEE Xplore (ieeexplore.ieee.org)
- PubMed (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- ACM Digital Library (dl.acm.org)
- arXiv (arxiv.org) - for preprints in relevant fields
- Domain-specific databases

**Search Strategy:**
- Start with broad searches: "machine learning healthcare"
- Refine with specific terms: "deep learning medical diagnosis 2023"
- Use quotation marks for exact phrases: "convolutional neural networks"
- Combine terms strategically
- Search for recent publications (last 5-7 years unless historical context needed)

**Verification Checklist:**

For each source, verify:
- [ ] Published in peer-reviewed journal or conference
- [ ] Author credentials and institutional affiliation
- [ ] Publication venue reputation
- [ ] Citation count (higher indicates impact)
- [ ] Methodology soundness
- [ ] Relevance to research question

**Red Flags:**
- Predatory journals (check journalquality.info or beallslist)
- Lack of peer review process
- No institutional affiliation
- Suspicious publication practices
- Pay-to-publish without legitimate review

### 4. Document Structure

Create documents following this standard academic structure:

**Research Paper:**
1. Title
2. Abstract (150-250 words)
3. Keywords (5-7 terms)
4. Introduction
   - Background and context
   - Problem statement
   - Research objectives
   - Contribution statement
   - Paper organization
5. Literature Review / Related Work
   - Theoretical framework
   - Previous research synthesis
   - Research gap identification
6. Methodology (if applicable)
   - Research design
   - Data collection
   - Analysis approach
7. Results / Findings
8. Discussion
   - Interpretation
   - Implications
   - Limitations
9. Conclusion
   - Summary of findings
   - Future work
10. References (IEEE format)

**Literature Review:**
1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Review Methodology
5. Thematic Sections (organized by themes/topics)
6. Discussion and Synthesis
7. Conclusion
8. References

### 5. Writing Guidelines

**Academic Tone:**
- Use formal, objective language
- Write in third person (avoid "I" or "we" unless methodologically appropriate)
- Use precise technical terminology
- Maintain neutral stance (present multiple perspectives)
- Use hedging language appropriately ("suggests," "indicates," "may")

**Paragraph Structure:**
- Topic sentence
- Supporting evidence with citations
- Analysis and interpretation
- Transition to next point

**Citation Integration:**
- Introduce sources with context
- Use signal phrases ("According to Smith et al. [1]...", "Research by Jones [2] demonstrates...")
- Balance direct quotations (use sparingly) with paraphrasing
- Cite after every factual claim from external sources
- Use citation numbers in square brackets [1], [2], [3]

**Avoid:**
- Plagiarism (always paraphrase and cite)
- Unsupported claims
- Casual or colloquial language
- Personal opinions without evidence
- Excessive quotations
- Wikipedia or non-academic sources

### 6. IEEE Reference Format

Generate references in IEEE format following these patterns:

**Journal Article:**
```
[1] A. Author, B. Author, and C. Author, "Title of article," Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, pp. ZZ-ZZ, Month Year.
```

**Conference Paper:**
```
[2] A. Author and B. Author, "Title of paper," in Proc. Conference Name, City, Country, Year, pp. ZZ-ZZ.
```

**Book:**
```
[3] A. Author, Title of Book, Edition. City, State: Publisher, Year.
```

**Book Chapter:**
```
[4] A. Author, "Title of chapter," in Book Title, Edition, Ed. City, State: Publisher, Year, pp. ZZ-ZZ.
```

**Website/Online:**
```
[5] A. Author. "Title of webpage." Website Name. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
```

**Technical Report:**
```
[6] A. Author, "Title," Institution, City, State, Rep. Number, Month Year.
```

**Thesis/Dissertation:**
```
[7] A. Author, "Title," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Abbrev., University, City, State, Year.
```

**Patent:**
```
[8] A. Inventor, "Title," Country Patent Number, Month Day, Year.
```

**Standards:**
```
[9] Title of Standard, Standard Number, Year.
```

**Key IEEE Rules:**
- Number references consecutively in order of appearance
- Use square brackets [1], [2], [3]
- For multiple authors: list all if ≤6; use "et al." if >6
- Use initials for first/middle names
- Abbreviate journal names per IEEE standards
- Include DOI when available
- Maintain consistent formatting

### 7. Quality Assurance

Before finalizing, verify:

**Content:**
- [ ] Clear research question/objective
- [ ] Logical flow and organization
- [ ] Adequate source coverage (minimum 15-20 for research paper)
- [ ] All sources verified as peer-reviewed
- [ ] Claims supported by citations
- [ ] Methodology clearly explained (if applicable)
- [ ] Results/findings clearly presented
- [ ] Limitations acknowledged

**Technical:**
- [ ] IEEE reference format correct
- [ ] All in-text citations match reference list
- [ ] No missing references
- [ ] Consistent citation numbering
- [ ] Proper figure/table captions and numbering

**Writing Quality:**
- [ ] Academic tone maintained
- [ ] Clear and concise language
- [ ] No grammatical errors
- [ ] Transitions between sections smooth
- [ ] Abstract accurately summarizes paper

## Implementation Approach

When creating an academic document:

1. Use web_search extensively to find peer-reviewed sources
2. Verify each source's academic credibility
3. Extract relevant information and synthesize findings
4. Write in formal academic style
5. Integrate citations naturally throughout
6. Generate complete IEEE reference list
7. Create document using appropriate tool (docx, pdf, or markdown)

## Reference Resources

For detailed guidance on specific aspects:
- Academic writing conventions: See [ACADEMIC-WRITING.md](references/ACADEMIC-WRITING.md)
- IEEE citation examples: See [IEEE-CITATION-GUIDE.md](references/IEEE-CITATION-GUIDE.md)
- Source verification: See [SOURCE-VERIFICATION.md](references/SOURCE-VERIFICATION.md)

## Output Format

Create documents as:
- **DOCX**: For full research papers, theses, dissertations (use docx skill)
- **PDF**: For final submission versions (use pdf skill)
- **Markdown**: For drafts, literature reviews, or online publication

## Notes

- Always prioritize source quality over quantity
- Recent sources (last 5-7 years) preferred unless historical context required
- Maintain research integrity throughout
- When in doubt about a source, search for additional verification
- Use web_fetch to access full articles when available