How to Explore a New Research Field Using ScholarAssist

Scenario: Understanding the Learned Query Optimization Landscape

In this example, we follow a researcher who wants to explore learned query optimization, a focused yet still evolving research area in database systems. Instead of manually searching, skimming dozens of papers, and stitching information together, the researcher interacts with AgenticScholar through a sequence of natural language queries.

Walkthrough: From Research Trends to New Research Ideas

Step 1 — Explore Research Trends

Let’s begin with an open question: How has research on learned query optimization evolved recently? Instead of manually searching and reading papers, we explore the topic directly through the taxonomy.

Step 2 — Identify Influential Papers

I'm interested in the topic of learned cost and cardinality estimation. Now I want to know which papers are the most influential.

Step 3 — Drill Down into a Specific Paper

I’m curious about "Reinforcement Learning with Tree-LSTM". How exactly does it work?

Step 4 — Compare Against Milestone Papers

Let’s compare it with other milestone papers. How does its performance stand relative to others?

Step 5 — Discover New Research Ideas

It seems strong, but is there still room for new research in this area?