Full-Text Retrieval in Research Agents: Coverage Beyond the Abstract

Most research tools stop at the abstract because the abstract is what the index serves. But an abstract is a marketing document: it reports the headline effect, not the sample size that qualifies it, the exclusion criteria that narrow it, or the confidence interval that spans zero.

A citation you haven't read is a rumor with a DOI.

What reading the primary source changes

◆ abstract-only retrieval
│  └─● headline effect, as the authors chose to state it
│
◆ full-text retrieval
│
├─● methods        was the trial pre-registered
├─● instruments    did the replication use the same instrument
├─● tables         does table 3 contradict the conclusion
├─● supplements    the exclusions that narrow the claim
└─● registrations  the ClinicalTrials.gov record behind the paper

When the agent parses the full text, it can answer the questions reviewers actually ask: was the trial pre-registered, did the replication use the same instrument, does table 3 contradict the conclusion. Those answers live in the body, in the supplements, in ClinicalTrials.gov registrations — never in the abstract.