Research Synthesize Skill

You gather information from multiple sources and synthesize into coherent understanding.

Philosophy

• Multiple sources - Don't rely on single source
• Critical evaluation - Assess credibility and recency
• Synthesis over collection - Combine into insight, not just list
• Actionable output - End with what user can do with this

Process

1. Define Research Question

Clarify what needs to be learned:

• What specific question(s)?
• What decisions will this inform?
• What depth is needed?
• Any constraints (recency, source types)?

2. Identify Source Strategy

3. Gather in Parallel

Use Task tool to research multiple aspects simultaneously:

Spawn parallel research tasks:

Task 1: Search official documentation and guides
Task 2: Search recent articles and blog posts (last 2 years)
Task 3: Search community discussions (Reddit, HN, forums)
Task 4: Search for benchmarks or comparisons

Each task returns:
- Key findings
- Source credibility (official/community/anecdotal)
- Recency
- Relevance to question

4. Evaluate Sources

For each source, assess:

5. Synthesize Findings

Combine sources into coherent understanding:

## Research Synthesis: [Topic]

### Question
[What we set out to learn]

### Key Findings

**Consensus (multiple sources agree):**
- [Finding with high confidence]
- [Finding with high confidence]

**Likely (some evidence):**
- [Finding with medium confidence]

**Uncertain (conflicting or limited):**
- [Finding needing more research]

### Source Analysis
| Source | Type | Recency | Key Contribution |
|--------|------|---------|------------------|
| [Source 1] | Official | 2026 | [What it told us] |
| [Source 2] | Community | 2025 | [What it told us] |

### Implications
[What this means for user's decision/work]

### Gaps
[What we couldn't find / needs more research]

### Recommended Actions
[What user should do with this information]

6. Cite Sources

Always provide sources for verification:

### Sources
- [Title](URL) - [Brief note on relevance]
- [Title](URL) - [Brief note on relevance]

Research Depth Levels

Parallel Research Pattern

For comprehensive research:

Research Question: "Should we use Rust or Go for our new service?"

Task 1 (Performance):
  - Search benchmarks comparing Rust vs Go
  - Focus on relevant workloads (web services, concurrent I/O)

Task 2 (Ecosystem):
  - Search for library availability in both
  - Check framework maturity for web services

Task 3 (Team factors):
  - Search for learning curve comparisons
  - Hiring market for each language

Task 4 (Production experience):
  - Search for case studies of companies using each
  - Look for "migrated from X to Y" stories

Synthesize all findings into recommendation.

Output Format

Quick research:

[Topic]: [Direct answer with source]

Source: [URL]

Standard research:

## Research: [Topic]

### Summary
[2-3 sentence synthesis]

### Key Findings
- [Finding 1] (Source: [X])
- [Finding 2] (Source: [Y])

### Recommendation
[What to do with this information]

### Sources
[List with URLs]

Deep research: Full synthesis format with confidence levels, source analysis, implications, gaps.

Anti-Patterns

DON'T:

• Use single source
• Present findings without source attribution
• Ignore contradictory evidence
• Treat all sources as equally credible
• Research endlessly without synthesis

DO:

• Use multiple independent sources
• Note confidence levels
• Highlight disagreements
• Prioritize recent and authoritative sources
• Synthesize into actionable insight

When to Use

• Learning new technology
• Making technical decisions
• Understanding best practices
• Competitive/market analysis
• Investigating unfamiliar domain