Research Synthesize

Confidence rules:

• Strong: multiple high-quality independent sources, no significant contradictions
• Moderate: good evidence with caveats, or limited sources
• Weak: some evidence but real uncertainty — must be flagged in output
• Speculative: reasoned inference, not directly evidenced — clearly label it

After all claims are drafted, fill in the claims map:

## Claims map

| Research question | Claims | Confidence |
|-------------------|--------|------------|
| Q1: [question] | C1, C2 | strong |
| Q2: [question] | C3 | moderate |
| Q3: [question] | — | unanswered |

Every Q-number from plan.md must appear. If a question is unanswered: write "Q3: unanswered — [reason: gap G00N, or inherent limitation]"

Building narrative.md

The narrative connects claims into a coherent argument. Write in prose — not bullets.

Structure:

1. Opening — state the core finding immediately. Don't bury the lead.
2. Body — work through claims in logical order (not discovery order). Reference claims by number: "The evidence strongly supports C1..."
3. Complications — address unresolved contradictions from contradictions.md honestly. Do not smooth them over.
4. Conclusion — directly answer the research question from brief.md. If it can't be fully answered, say so clearly and explain why.

Rules:

• Every paragraph advances the argument — cut anything decorative
• Do not introduce claims here that aren't in claims.md
• Speculative claims must be clearly labelled as inference
• The research question gets a direct answer in the conclusion — always

Quality check before finishing

• Every claim in claims.md cites at least one source (S-number)
• Every Q-number from plan.md appears in the claims map
• Unresolved contradictions from contradictions.md appear in the narrative
• The narrative conclusion directly answers the research question
• All speculative claims are labelled

State update on finish

Update state.json:

• phase: output
• progress.synthesis_complete: true
• questions.answered: [count of Q-numbers with at least one claim]
• last_action: "Synthesis complete — N claims written, narrative drafted"
• next_action: "Write final output — use /research-write"
• Add history row