MCP Research Assistant Server

AI-powered research assistant with web search, academic search, and document Q&A capabilities. Can operate as an MCP server for AI clients or in direct query mode.

Features

• Web Search: Search the web via GDELT news and content APIs
• Academic Search: Search research papers via OpenAlex
• News Search: Real-time news monitoring
• Data Extraction: Extract structured data from web pages
• AI Summarization: Multi-LLM support for research synthesis
• MCP Server Mode: Expose as Model Context Protocol server

Data Sources (All Free)

Source	Data Type
GDELT	Web content, news articles
OpenAlex	Academic papers, citations
Wikipedia	Encyclopedia articles
arXiv	Preprints (physics, CS, math)
Semantic Scholar	Research papers
CrossRef	DOI metadata

Operating Modes

Direct Query Mode

Run standalone research queries with AI synthesis.

MCP Server Mode

Expose tools for AI clients (Claude, GPT) to call:

• web_search: Search web content
• academic_search: Search research papers
• news_search: Search news articles
• summarize: Summarize content with AI

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
mode	string	"query" (direct) or "server" (MCP)
query	string	Research question (for direct mode)
tools	array	Tools: web_search, news_search, academic_search, data_extraction, summarization
modelName	string	AI model for synthesis

Output

{
  "success": true,
  "query": "What are the latest developments in AI agents?",
  "research_report": {
    "summary": "AI agents have seen rapid development in 2024...",
    "key_findings": [
      "Multi-agent systems showing promise",
      "Tool use capabilities expanding",
      "Memory and planning improvements"
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "title": "Survey of AI Agent Architectures",
        "source": "arXiv",
        "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/...",
        "date": "2024-01-10",
        "relevance": 0.95
      }
    ],
    "academic_papers": [
      {
        "title": "ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting",
        "authors": ["Yao et al."],
        "venue": "ICLR 2023",
        "citations": 500,
        "link": "https://..."
      }
    ],
    "news_coverage": [...],
    "ai_synthesis": {
      "main_themes": [...],
      "research_gaps": [...],
      "future_directions": [...]
    }
  }
}

Use Cases

1. Researchers: Literature review, research synthesis
2. Analysts: Market research, competitive analysis
3. Students: Academic research assistance
4. Journalists: Background research, fact-checking
5. AI Developers: MCP server integration

Pricing

Pay-per-event model:

• search-performed: $0.01 per search
• document-processed: $0.005 per document
• ai-synthesis: $0.02 per synthesis

Example Usage

Direct Query Mode

apify call fiery_dream/mcp-research-server --input '{
  "mode": "query",
  "query": "What are the latest developments in quantum computing?",
  "tools": ["web_search", "academic_search", "summarization"],
  "modelName": "gpt-4o-mini",
  "openaiApiKey": "sk-..."
}'

MCP Server Mode

apify call fiery_dream/mcp-research-server --input '{
  "mode": "server"
}'