Subagent-Driven Literature Review

Overview

Core principle: Fresh subagent per batch + consolidation between batches = fast parallel screening with quality control

For large literature reviews (50+ papers), dispatching parallel or sequential subagents dramatically speeds up screening while maintaining quality through consolidation checkpoints.

When to Use

Use subagent-driven approach when:

• Large searches: 50+ papers to screen
• Parallelizable work: Papers are independent, can be screened separately
• Deep dive tasks: Multiple papers need detailed extraction (data tables, methods, datasets)
• Citation exploration: Following citation networks recursively
• Context management: Main context getting full, need fresh context
• Time pressure: Need results faster than sequential screening