Research assistant service for authors and academics
Every nonfiction author and grad student has the same two research problems: finding what’s actually been written on a topic, and making sure every citation in the manuscript is real, current, and correctly attributed. AI assistants made the second problem worse; invented citations now slip into serious work regularly.
This service sells the fix: literature research and citation verification built on an engine whose defining behavior is that it checks references against real bibliographic databases and says "could not verify" instead of guessing.
The job
Three productized offers. Bibliography verification: the author sends their reference list; you return it annotated (verified, corrected, could-not-verify) before the manuscript goes to the publisher. Literature briefs: a grounded synthesis of what’s been published on a topic, with real citations, as a starting map for a book chapter or thesis section. Author and topic scouting: who’s publishing on what, which venues, what’s rising, for authors positioning proposals.
Your customers are nonfiction authors on deadline, grad students whose advisors stopped reading their drafts, self-publishing academics, and small presses without fact-checking staff.
Who it suits
Librarians and library-science students are the natural operators, along with grad students, editors, and research-inclined writers. If citation formats don’t scare you, you’re in.
Startup cost and tools
| What | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Engine calls per project | ~$0.50–$2 | Reference checks ($0.15 per batch), literature briefs ($0.25), paper lookups ($0.05), topic scans ($0.20) |
| Site + delivery | $0–$45/mo | Standard stack |
Engine prices are the live public catalog prices, the same sheet agents pay. No subscription is required to use them.
The licensing question
None. The professional line that matters is academic integrity: you verify, research, and map sources; you don’t ghostwrite student work that will be submitted as their own. State that policy on your site; the clients you want will trust you more for it.
How the engine does the heavy lifting
Bibliography verification against real databases, grounded literature synthesis, author and journal metrics, and rising-topic scans. When a reference can’t be verified, it says so.
/api/ref-check$0.15Bibliography verification (flagship)/api/literature-brief$0.25Grounded literature synthesis/api/topic-scan$0.20Rising-topic research scan/api/paper$0.05Single-paper lookup/api/author$0.10Author metricsYour first customer in 30 days
- Verify the bibliography of one published book in your field and write up what you found (politely). That document is your calling card.
- Price per reference batch and per brief, flat, published on the site.
- Post your integrity policy (verification and research, no ghostwriting) where clients can see it.
- Pitch three small presses and two dissertation-coaching services; they have recurring verification needs and no staff for it.
Hand this to your assistant
This blueprint has a machine-readable page with the current endpoints, prices, and setup steps. Paste this into Claude, ChatGPT, or any assistant that can fetch a URL:
Machine page: https://pulse.theaslangroupllc.com/fieldguide/author-research-assistant.json
Start this one
The engines are pay-per-call, no subscription. Agents pay per call over x402 (USDC on Base or Solana). If you're a human, get a starter key: it takes about a minute, includes a $0.25 trial balance, and tops up by card (Stripe) or USDC. No crypto wallet required. Prefer email? Write to info@theaslangroupllc.com with the subject "Starter key: author-research-assistant" and we'll provision one by hand, usually the same day.
The Field Guide book, with all 75 blueprints expanded, is in progress. The hub is free either way.