# Research from supplied material: prompt chain Answer a focused research question from documents you supply, trace each finding to a passage, show conflicts and unknowns, and write a concise answer within the evidence. **Made for:** Anyone preparing a briefing or answer from a defined packet of material. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **Research question** (required): Ask one answerable question and name the period or group if it matters. - **Material to use** (required): Paste each document with a short title and date. Only these words will be used for the answer. - **What the answer should cover** (optional): Add a useful limit, such as a location, audience or format. Leave blank to answer the question as written. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: Map the supplied documents Record what each document can answer and where the packet is thin. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a research assistant who inventories a document packet. Your task is to map the material that can answer this question: [PASTE HERE: Research question] Material: [PASTE HERE: Material to use] Rules: - Give one row per titled document in the order supplied. Keep its title as written. - State the relevant topic in plain words and one limit, such as a missing measure or unclear definition. - Do not answer the question yet. Do not invent a source or a publication date. Return one markdown table: | Document | Relevant topic | Limit | ```` **You get back:** A document map with relevant topics and limits. **Check after Step 1: Each document row has a topic and a limit** Check by eye: Every row of the table has something written in "Document", "Relevant topic" and "Limit" (a blank or a dash does not count). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Extract evidence for the question Pull relevant facts and quote the source words behind each one. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful reader of supplied research material. Your task is to extract each fact in the packet that bears on the question. Question: [PASTE HERE: Research question] Document map: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Map the supplied documents)] Material: [PASTE HERE: Material to use] Rules: - Use one row per distinct relevant fact. Name the document and quote the shortest passage that states it, word for word. - Include facts that disagree with another document. Keep dates, units and qualifiers as written. - Do not import facts from memory or silently calculate new figures. Do not treat an absent fact as zero. Return one markdown table: | Finding | Document | Passage (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A source-linked evidence table for the question. **Check after Step 2: Every evidence passage is in the supplied material** Check by eye: Each quote in the Passage (quote) column appears in the material to use, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Sort findings and unknowns Separate supported findings, conflicts and missing information before drafting. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an evidence reviewer who distinguishes a finding from a gap. Your task is to assess what the evidence can answer and what remains open. Question: [PASTE HERE: Research question] Evidence: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Extract evidence for the question)] Document limits: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (Map the supplied documents)] Rules: - Put each material point under Supported, Conflicting or Unknown. Explain a conflict by naming the documents and values that differ. - Arithmetic is allowed only when every operand is in the evidence. Show the calculation and its units. - If a question needs a comparison that the packet cannot support, mark it Unknown rather than guess. - Do not resolve a conflict by choosing the newer document without an explicit correction in the material. Return markdown with headings Supported, Conflicting and Unknown, with short bullets and document names. ```` **You get back:** Findings and unresolved questions with their evidence limits. **Check after Step 3: The assessment names unknowns** Check by eye: The answer contains the text fragment "Unknown" (including inside a longer word). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Write the sourced answer Answer in plain words and keep evidence limits visible. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a concise research writer. Your task is to answer the question for the stated reader and boundary. Question: [PASTE HERE: Research question] Boundary: [PASTE HERE: What the answer should cover] Assessed findings: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Sort findings and unknowns)] Evidence: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Extract evidence for the question)] Rules: - Lead with the direct answer, or say the packet cannot answer it fully. - Cite the document title beside each material finding. Keep conflicting figures and unknowns visible. - When you calculate a figure, show the source numbers and arithmetic. Preserve qualifiers from the material. - Do not imply that you searched outside this packet. Do not add a source, a quote or a number. Return markdown with headings Answer, Evidence, What remains unknown and Check before using. ```` **You get back:** A concise sourced answer with limits and a human review cue. **Check after Step 4: The answer includes an unknowns section** Check by eye: The answer contains the text fragment "What remains unknown" (including inside a longer word). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: Each material finding traces to the evidence table** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Each material finding traces to the evidence table Compare the answer with [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Extract evidence for the question)] and [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Sort findings and unknowns)]. Does each material finding have a matching passage or shown calculation, are conflicts still visible, and is any unsupported assertion presented as fact? Answer FAIL and quote an unsupported assertion. The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Write the sourced answer)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Write the sourced answer)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: You inspect key passages before sharing** Ask yourself: Reopen the named documents and read the passages behind the main answer. Confirm that the packet is complete enough for your use, and ask for missing material where an unknown could change the decision. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A table of relevant facts with source passages. - An answer that separates supported findings, conflicts and unknowns. ## Changing this chain - This works only from the packet you supply. Add a new document to the material and rerun the template if the evidence changes. - Give each document a title and date so findings can be checked by a person. - For a large packet, run a focused question against one section at a time, then compare the evidence tables. - A plausible statement without a passage remains unknown until you add evidence. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.