Education

Research synthesis brief

Use this when you have source material and need a structured synthesis instead of a summary pile.

Before you start

  • Research notes, interview notes, articles, or excerpts
  • The research question
  • Audience for the final brief
Focus on one step at a time
8 min active prompt time

Inventory the source material

Create a source map so the synthesis does not treat every note as equally strong.

Inline prompt text

Source inventory

source-inventory-prompt.md65 tokens · 0.3 KB
You are a research assistant. Create a source inventory from these notes. Inputs: - Research question: - Source notes: Return: - Source list - Source type - Main claim or observation - Evidence strength - Caveats or bias - Relevance to the research question

Deliverables

  • Source inventory
  • Evidence strength notes

Tips

  • Track weak evidence instead of deleting it.
  • Keep claims attached to sources.
10 min active prompt time

Cluster themes

Group the notes into themes while preserving outliers.

Inline prompt text

Theme clustering

theme-clustering-prompt.md49 tokens · 0.2 KB
Cluster these research notes into themes. Return: - 4 to 7 major themes - Notes or sources supporting each theme - Outliers that do not fit - Repeated patterns - Questions raised by each theme

Deliverables

  • Theme list
  • Outliers
  • Open questions

Tips

  • Ask for outliers explicitly.
  • Do not turn every note into its own theme.
8 min active prompt time

Find contradictions

Surface conflicts and uncertainty before writing recommendations.

Inline prompt text

Contradiction review

contradictions-prompt.md54 tokens · 0.2 KB
Review these themes for contradictions and uncertainty. Return: - Claims that conflict - Sources behind each side - Possible reasons for the conflict - What needs more research - What can still be concluded safely

Deliverables

  • Contradiction list
  • Uncertainty notes

Tips

  • Do not force false agreement.
  • Mark conclusions that need more evidence.
14 min active prompt time

Draft the synthesis brief

Turn the themes into a concise brief with evidence and implications.

Inline prompt text

Research synthesis brief

insight-brief-prompt.md64 tokens · 0.2 KB
Write a concise research synthesis brief. Inputs: - Research question: - Themes: - Contradictions: - Audience: Return: - Executive summary - Key insights - Evidence behind each insight - Contradictions or limits - Implications - Recommended next steps

Deliverables

  • Synthesis brief
  • Next steps

Tips

  • Separate insight from implication.
  • Name the limits of the evidence.
5 min quick pass

Prepare review questions

Create questions for a reviewer so the brief gets sharper instead of longer.

Inline prompt text

Brief review questions

review-questions-prompt.md53 tokens · 0.2 KB
Create review questions for this research brief. Return: - Questions to test evidence quality - Questions to test interpretation - Questions to test missing stakeholders - Questions to test practical next steps

Deliverables

  • Reviewer question list

Tips

  • Ask questions that find weak reasoning.
  • Use the answers to revise, not expand endlessly.