How to Use Claude for Research Without Losing Your Sources
📋 Table of Contents
The safest AI research workflow separates extraction from conclusions. Claude can organize a large collection of notes, but you should still be able to trace every important claim back to a source.
Build a Source List
Give each file a simple label: interview, policy, report, or product note. Tell Claude which sources are authoritative and which are background only.
Extract Before Writing
Ask for a table with claim, source, date, and confidence. Then ask for open questions. Only after checking that table should you request a memo or recommendation.
Extract factual claims only. Cite the document and section for each item.
Mark anything ambiguous as “needs verification.” Do not draft the final memo yet.
Final Quality Check
Before sharing the result, ask Claude to list unsupported statements and missing evidence. This makes the final brief shorter, but substantially more trustworthy.
Discussion
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