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omniseek_field_skeleton

Generate a citation-neighborhood map of a research field from seeds or query, exposing foundational vs frontier works. Use the raw graph to cluster, detect gaps, and judge relevance.

Instructions

Map a research field's shape — use WHEN you need its citation neighborhood (foundational core by citations vs frontier by date) to cluster yourself, from a topic or seed papers.

A thin graph primitive, NO judgment: given query (auto-picks top-relevance seeds) or seeds (OpenAlex work-ids YOU chose as anchors — preferred once you know the field), it returns the field's complete citation neighborhood: every node with raw metadata, date, and ONE signal in_degree (how many in-field papers cite it).

YOU are the cartographer — do ALL the intelligence over this raw data: • SEEDS: if the auto-seeds are off (e.g. a generic survey crept in), re-call with seeds=[...] you pick from the nodes. • SOURCE: source="openalex" (default, rich for established fields) or source="s2" (Semantic Scholar — far better arXiv coverage + accurate citation counts; use it for recent/bleeding-edge fields where OpenAlex's graph is sparse). s2 nodes also carry influential (S2 flags the citation link to a seed as substantive, not a drive-by) and intent (methodology/background/result, when S2 classified it): strong cues for what to read first, and contexts ([{snippet, intents}]: the RAW citing SENTENCE(s) S2 extracted). READ a snippet to judge a citation's POLARITY yourself (does the citer SUPPORT, CONTRAST/refute, or merely MENTION the seed): OmniSeek exposes the sentence, YOU classify; S2 has no polarity field and OmniSeek makes no such judgment. contexts is empty when S2 never parsed the citing PDF. For a young/hot field the best "graph" is often a human-curated survey/awesome-list, fetch that yourself instead. • FOUNDATIONAL vs FRONTIER: high in_degree = the foundational core; recent date (filter it yourself) + your relevance read = the frontier. There is no frontier flag — you judge it. • DATA HYGIENE: OpenAlex occasionally has a poisoned title (e.g. a 14k-citation paper titled "AI Consciousness" by T.B. Brown IS a corrupted GPT-3 record). You recognize these — no code does. Use a node's url to verify / omniseek_read to read the real paper. • Cluster + narrate relevance and sub-fields from titles + concept + your knowledge. • GAP DETECTION (your seed set's blind spots): each non-seed node carries seed_ref_freq (how many of YOUR seeds reference it = a foundational ref your reading list is MISSING) and seed_cite_freq (how many seeds it cites = a frontier citer you are MISSING). Sort non-seed nodes by these to find what your input lacks. edges (the in-corpus [citer, cited] citation DAG) lets you build the citation / co-citation / bibliographic-coupling maps yourself (co-authorship: use omniseek_coauthors). • BUDGET: there is an overall wall-clock cap (deadline_s, ~25s default). On a slow/throttling S2 the assemble bails early with a PARTIAL map (_meta.deadline_hit: true) rather than hanging — retry shortly, raise deadline_s, or use source=openalex.

Returns: {seeds, n_nodes, n_edges, edges:[[citer_id, cited_id]], nodes:[{id, title, year, date, cited_by, in_degree, concept, first_author, doi, url, is_seed, seed_ref_freq, seed_cite_freq}]} (sorted by in_degree as a default view only; seed_ref_freq/seed_cite_freq on non-seed nodes). _meta carries seed_titles + seed_note (auto-seed drift check), degraded, deadline_hit, partial.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
freshNo
queryNo
seedsNo
sourceNoopenalex
n_seedsNo
max_nodesNo
deadline_sNo
citers_per_seedNo

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections. Dates show when Glama detected each change.

  1. First observedv0.2.0

TDQS

A4.6/5.0
Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

With zero annotations, the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure, and it delivers extensively: it states the tool makes 'NO judgment,' auto-picks seeds, bails early with a PARTIAL map when the deadline hits rather than hanging, and warns about poisoned OpenAlex titles (the corrupted GPT-3 record example). It also reveals edge cases like 'contexts is empty when S2 never parsed the citing PDF' and its default sort-by-in_degree behavior.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness3/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The purpose is front-loaded in the first sentence and the bolded section headers (SEEDS, SOURCE, BUDGET, etc.) make the long content skimmable. But the description is exceptionally long, with stylistic asides like 'YOU are the cartographer — do ALL the intelligence over this raw data' and emphatic flairs that add tone rather than facts; a tighter edit preserves the same information at roughly two-thirds the length.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given 8 optional params, zero annotations, 0% schema coverage, and no output schema, the description is impressively complete: it spells out the full return structure, deadline/partial-result behavior, data-quality caveats, the gap-detection workflow (seed_ref_freq/seed_cite_freq), and the source-selection decision tree. The only real gaps are three parameters (fresh, max_nodes, citers_per_seed) that go entirely unexplained, though two of those are reasonably inferable from their names.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 0%, so the description must compensate — and it deeply explains query (auto-picks top-relevance seeds), seeds (OpenAlex work-ids as user-chosen anchors, preferred once you know the field), source (openalex vs s2 tradeoffs including arXiv coverage and influential/intent signals), and deadline_s (~25s default, partial-result behavior). However, fresh, max_nodes, and citers_per_seed receive no semantic explanation, and n_seeds is only implied, leaving several parameters undocumented in both the schema and the description.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The opening line 'Map a research field's shape' pairs a specific verb with a clear resource, and 'use WHEN you need its citation neighborhood (foundational core by citations vs frontier by date)' states the exact trigger condition. It differentiates from siblings by routing co-authorship needs to omniseek_coauthors and framing its unique niche (citation neighborhood with in_degree signal) against the other omniseek tools.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description gives explicit when-to-use ('use WHEN you need its citation neighborhood... to cluster yourself') and when-not-to-use guidance ('For a young/hot field the best graph is often a human-curated survey/awesome-list, fetch that yourself instead'). It also names concrete alternatives (omniseek_read for verification, omniseek_coauthors for co-authorship) and gives source-selection criteria (openalex for established fields vs s2 for recent/arXiv-heavy ones).

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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