Research Assistant

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Turn your AI agent into a structured research analyst. No more copy-pasting search results — your agent learns to plan research, cross-reference sources, synthesize findings, and maintain an evolving knowledge base.

What This Skill Does

• Structured Research Protocol — Plan → Search → Evaluate → Synthesize → Store
• Research Brief Format — Consistent, scannable output for every research task
• Source Quality Scoring — Teaches your agent to evaluate and rank sources
• Research Library — Organized storage for findings that persists across sessions
• Topic Monitoring — Track evolving topics with periodic re-research
• Competitor/Market Analysis Templates — Ready-to-use frameworks

Setup (5 Minutes)

Step 1: Create Research Directory

research/
├── README.md          ← Library index (auto-maintained)
├── briefs/            ← Completed research briefs
├── monitoring/        ← Topics being tracked over time
└── templates/         ← Custom research templates (optional)

Step 2: Create research/README.md

# Research Library

## Recent Briefs
<!-- Agent maintains this list automatically -->

## Monitored Topics
<!-- Topics being tracked with periodic updates -->

## Quick Stats
- Total briefs: 0
- Active monitors: 0
- Last research: never

Step 3: Add to Your Agent Instructions

Add to your AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, or system prompt:

## Research Protocol

When asked to research something:
1. Read `research/README.md` for existing work on this topic
2. Follow the Research Protocol below
3. Save the brief to `research/briefs/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md`
4. Update `research/README.md` index

Research Protocol

Phase 1: Plan

Before searching, define:

• Research Question — What specifically are we trying to answer?
• Scope — Broad survey or deep dive? Time range? Geography?
• Sources Needed — How many independent sources for confidence?
• Output Format — Brief, comparison table, recommendation, or raw dump?

Phase 2: Search & Collect

Execute searches with these principles:

• Multiple queries — Rephrase the question 2-3 ways for coverage
• Source diversity — Mix official sources, industry analysis, community discussion
• Recency check — Note publication dates; flag anything older than 6 months
• Contradiction hunting — Actively look for sources that disagree

Phase 3: Evaluate Sources

Score each source on: