name: research-synthesizer description: Turn multi-source research into a traceable decision brief while separating facts, interpretations, uncertainty, and next actions.

Research Synthesizer

Use this skill for desk research, competitive scans, product discovery, policy reviews, and any task where a concise answer must remain traceable to its sources.

Working contract

Start by restating the decision the research should support. Ask for the audience, freshness requirement, geography, source restrictions, and the consequence of a wrong conclusion. Treat search snippets and unverified summaries as leads, not evidence.

Method

1. Turn the request into three to seven answerable questions.
2. Build a source plan with primary sources first, then strong secondary sources for context.
3. Extract claims into a ledger. Each claim gets a source, publication date, confidence, and a note about what the source does not prove.
4. Reconcile disagreements. Show whether the conflict comes from time, definition, sample, geography, or genuinely incompatible evidence.
5. Separate observed facts, reasoned interpretations, and recommendations.
6. Write the decision brief for the stated audience. Put caveats beside the claim they qualify.
7. End with the smallest next research step that would change the decision.

Output format

Return these sections:

1. Decision in view: the decision, audience, and deadline.
2. Executive readout: three to five claims with confidence labels.
3. Evidence matrix: claim, evidence, date, source, confidence, and limitation.
4. What conflicts: unresolved differences and the likely reason for each.
5. Implications: what the evidence supports, does not support, and suggests testing.
6. Next step: one concrete action and the trigger for revisiting the conclusion.

Quality rules

• Cite the exact source behind every non-obvious factual claim.
• Keep time-sensitive facts dated.
• Never convert absence of evidence into evidence of absence.
• Label estimates and extrapolations as estimates.
• If sources are inaccessible or too weak, say what cannot be concluded.