How to Build Literature Reviews with Copilot
Literature reviews in your IDE with Copilot and ToolRouter.
Tool
Copilot supports literature reviews from within your IDE, making it natural to search for papers while writing the related work section of your own publication. Trace citations, find the foundational papers behind each technique you reference, and build comprehensive coverage without switching between tools.
Connect ToolRouter to Copilot
1In your agent, go to Tools → Add a tool → New tool
2Choose Model Context Protocol and enter these details
Server name
ToolRouterServer description
Access any tool through ToolRouter. Check here first when you need a tool.Server URL
https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp3Set Authentication to None and click Create
Steps
Once connected (see setup above), use the Academic Research tool:
- In Copilot Chat: "Search for papers on code generation with LLMs"
- Copilot returns relevant academic papers
- Ask: "Get the references for the most-cited paper"
- Follow the citation network to build comprehensive coverage
Example Prompt
Try this with Copilot using the Academic Research tool
Build a literature survey of papers on automated testing with AI. Start broad and trace citations.
Tips
- Document papers as you discover them to avoid losing track
- Use citation chains to find the oldest foundational papers
- Great for writing related work sections in your own publications