Research Prompts

Prompts for literature reviews, market research, interview guides and synthesis. They ask the AI to separate evidence from inference and to say what it does not know.

• Research Synthesis: Synthesize multiple research sources into a coherent summary.
• Literature Review Plan: Plan a literature review that is systematic rather than convenient.
• Research Interview Guide: Write interview questions that surface behaviour rather than opinion.
• Source Credibility Check: Evaluate whether a source can bear the weight being put on it.
• Market Research Plan: Design market research that answers a decision, not curiosity.
• Hypothesis Formulation: Turn a hunch into a hypothesis that can actually be tested.
• Research Paper Summary: Summarise a paper including what it does not actually show.
• User Research Synthesis: Turn interview notes into findings a team can act on.
• Competitive Landscape Map: Map a market including the alternatives that are not products.
• Survey Question Design: Write survey questions that do not bias their own answers.
• Trend Analysis Report: Distinguish a durable trend from a temporary fluctuation.
• Fact Checking Protocol: Verify claims systematically before they are published.
• Research Brief Writer: Commission research with a brief that gets a useful answer.

Best research prompts, in full

The top 3 by score on the free Verbito Prompt Scorer.

Research Paper Summary (score 96/100)

You are a research analyst who reads methods sections before abstracts. Summarise this paper: [INSERT PAPER OR ABSTRACT].

Produce:

1. The research question in plain language
2. What was actually done: design, sample size, population and duration
3. Key findings with effect sizes, not just significance
4. The authors' conclusion, stated as they state it
5. Whether the conclusion is supported by the method and data presented
6. Limitations the authors acknowledge
7. Limitations they do not acknowledge
8. Whether this is correlational or causal, and whether the language used respects that distinction
9. Who funded it and any conflict of interest
10. What this paper supports, and what it will be misquoted as supporting
11. How it fits the wider evidence

Watch for the gap between what a study measured and what the discussion claims. An observational study with causal language in the abstract is common and should be flagged.

Tone: analytical and careful.

Audience: a busy manager deciding whether the findings apply to our work. Context: the goal is a go or no-go on [INSERT DECISION].
Keep the summary under 300 words and finish with one line on how much to trust the result and why.

Research Synthesis (score 92/100)

You are a research analyst with expertise in synthesizing complex information. Synthesize the following research sources on the topic: [INSERT TOPIC].

SOURCES TO SYNTHESIZE:
[PASTE SOURCE SUMMARIES, ABSTRACTS, OR KEY FINDINGS HERE — UP TO 5 SOURCES]

Please provide:

1. SYNTHESIS SUMMARY (300 words):
   - Integrate findings across all sources
   - Identify areas of agreement and consensus
   - Note contradictions or conflicting findings
   - Highlight gaps in the current research

2. KEY THEMES (3-5 themes):
   - Each theme with supporting evidence from multiple sources
   - Direct quote integration (simulated if needed)
   - Strength of evidence assessment

3. METHODOLOGY COMPARISON:
   - Research approaches used across sources
   - Sample sizes and demographics
   - Limitations of each study
   - Overall quality assessment

4. IMPLICATIONS:
   - Theoretical implications
   - Practical applications
   - Policy recommendations if applicable
   - Future research directions

5. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
   - Biases to consider
   - Limitations of the current body of research
   - What questions remain unanswered

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMAT:
   - Properly formatted references in [INSERT CITATION STYLE: APA/MLA/Chicago]
   - Ready for inclusion in a research paper

Task: write a synthesis that answers [INSERT QUESTION]. Audience: decision-makers who will not read the sources.
Context: the goal is a decision on [INSERT DECISION].
Constraints: cite the source for every claim, flag disagreements between sources, and keep it under 700 words.

Research Brief Writer (score 90/100)

You are a research commissioner who writes briefs that prevent wasted studies. Write a brief for research into [INSERT TOPIC] for [INSERT ORGANISATION].

Produce:

1. Background: what is already known and where it came from
2. The decision awaiting this research, and its deadline
3. Research objectives, numbered and specific
4. Questions that must be answered, separated from those that would be nice to answer
5. Audience to study, defined by behaviour rather than demographics alone
6. Suggested methodology, while leaving room for the supplier to propose better
7. Existing data available to the supplier
8. Deliverables: format, depth, and whether a presentation is required
9. Budget range and timeline
10. How success will be judged
11. Known constraints and sensitivities

State what is already known. Suppliers frequently rediscover things the commissioner knew but did not mention, spending budget on confirmation instead of new insight.

Tone: clear and complete. Assume the reader knows the method but not the business.

How to use these prompts

1. Copy the prompt that matches your task.
2. Replace every [INSERT ...] part with your own details: the more specific, the better the answer.
3. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. To tailor it to your exact situation, describe your goal in the Verbito prompt generator instead.

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