# From Toil to Thought: Designing for Strategic Exploration and Responsible AI in Systematic Literature Reviews

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05514 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.05514/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 16 of its 89 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Jan 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence: Reliable, Safe & Trustworthy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.04087/) (2020)
- [The Robots are Here: Navigating the Generative AI Revolution in Computing Education](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00658/) (2023)
- [Fostering Appropriate Reliance on Large Language Models: The Role of Explanations, Sources, and Inconsistencies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.08554/) (2025)
- [Open Source Software for Efficient and Transparent Reviews](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.12166/) (2020)
- [Scim: Intelligent Skimming Support for Scientific Papers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.04561/) (2022)
- [Synergi: A Mixed-Initiative System for Scholarly Synthesis and Sensemaking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.07517/) (2023)
- [Threddy: An Interactive System for Personalized Thread-based Exploration and Organization of Scientific Literature](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.03455/) (2022)
- [CiteSee: Augmenting Citations in Scientific Papers with Persistent and Personalized Historical Context](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.07302/) (2023)
- [Relatedly: Scaffolding Literature Reviews with Existing Related Work Sections](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.06754/) (2023)
- [PaperWeaver: Enriching Topical Paper Alerts by Contextualizing Recommended Papers with User-collected Papers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.02939/) (2024)
- [Successful Combination of Database Search and Snowballing for Identification of Primary Studies in Systematic Literature Studies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.02612/) (2023)
- [Large-scale comparison of bibliographic data sources: Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions, Crossref, and Microsoft Academic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.10732/) (2020)
- [ComLittee: Literature Discovery with Personal Elected Author Committees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.06780/) (2023)
- [ScholarMate: A Mixed-Initiative Tool for Qualitative Knowledge Work and Information Sensemaking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.14406/) (2025)
- [Toward Living Narrative Reviews: An Empirical Study of the Processes and Challenges in Updating Survey Articles in Computing Research](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.00881/) (2025)
- [Paperfetcher: A tool to automate handsearch for systematic reviews](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.12490/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Systematic Literature Reviews (SLRs) are fundamental to scientific progress, yet the process is hindered by a fragmented tool ecosystem that imposes a high cognitive load. This friction suppresses the iterative, exploratory nature of scholarly work. To investigate these challenges, we conducted an exploratory design study with 20 experienced researchers. This study identified key friction points: 1) the high cognitive load of managing iterative query refinement across multiple databases, 2) the overwhelming scale and pace of publication of modern literature, and 3) the tension between automation and scholarly agency. Informed by these findings, we developed ARC, a design probe that operationalizes solutions for multi-database integration, transparent iterative search, and verifiable AI-assisted screening. A comparative user study with 8 researchers suggests that an integrated environment facilitates a transition in scholarly work, moving researchers from managing administrative overhead to engaging in strategic exploration. By utilizing external representations to scaffold strategic exploration and transparent AI reasoning, our system supports verifiable judgment, aiming to augment expert contributions from initial creation through long-term maintenance of knowledge synthesis.