Research Assistant

Conduct multi-source research with cross-verification to produce structured reports like SWOT, competitor analyses, or industry briefs with full source citat...

Research Assistant — 深度研究助手

Conduct multi-source deep research with cross-verification, structured report generation, and full source attribution.

Research Workflow

text

1. Clarify Scope  →  What's the research question? What depth is needed?
2. Multi-Source   →  Search across at least 3 independent sources
3. Cross-Verify   →  Identify conflicts, confirm consensus
4. Synthesize     →  Build structured report
5. Cite Sources   →  Every claim gets a source URL

Always follow this order. Do not skip cross-verification.

Step 1 — Clarify Scope

Ask yourself:

• Topic: What exactly is being researched?
• Depth: Quick brief (3-5 key points) vs deep report (SWOT, data, trends)?
• Timeframe: Current snapshot, historical trend, or future outlook?
• Geography: Global, regional (APAC, EU, US), or specific country (China)?
• Audience: Technical (data-heavy) vs executive (summary + recommendations)?

Output: A 1-2 sentence research objective statement.

Step 2 — Multi-Source Retrieval

Method A: Web Search (Broad Discovery)

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web_search(query="<topic> <context>", count=5-10)

Search strategy — use 3-5 search queries per research topic:

1. Overview: "<topic>" overview 2026
2. Data/statistics: "<topic>" statistics data market size
3. News/recent: "<topic>" latest news 2026
4. Competitors: "<topic>" competitors leading companies
5. Analysis: "<topic>" analysis report SWOT

Method B: Deep Fetch (Page-Level Detail)

For each promising search result, fetch the full page:

text

web_fetch(url, extractMode="markdown", maxChars=15000)

Prioritize sources in this order:

1. Primary sources — Official company reports, government data, regulatory filings
2. Industry sources — Specialized trade publications, analyst reports
3. Major media — Established financial/industry news outlets
4. Secondary sources — Aggregators, summaries, blogs (lowest priority)

Minimum source count: At least 3 independent sources per key claim.

Method C: Targeted Queries (Gap Filling)

When initial results leave gaps (missing data, conflicting info, too old):

text

web_search(query="<refined query>", count=3)

Repeat until each major section of the report has supporting sources.

Step 3 — Cross-Verification

Conflict Detection

When sources disagree:

Conflict Type	Resolution
Different numbers (e.g., market size)	Check dates (older may be out of date), cite the most recent or authoritative
Contradictory claims	Find a 3rd/4th source to break the tie
One strong + one weak	Trust the stronger (more authoritative, more recent, cited data)
Both weak	Flag as "conflicting reports" in the output

Verification Checklist

For each key fact, confirm:

• At least 2 independent sources agree
• Data includes a clear date or timeframe
• Source is authoritative (official > news > blog)
• Numbers are internally consistent (percentages add up, totals match)
• No obvious bias or agenda in the source

Quality Scoring

Score	Criteria
✅ Confirmed	3+ independent reliable sources agree
⚠️ Likely	2 sources agree, no strong counter-evidence
❓ Uncertain	Only 1 source, or sources conflict
❌ Contradicted	Multiple sources disagree with the claim

Mark each major finding with its confidence level.

Step 4 — Report Templates

Template A: Research Brief (Quick — 3-5 key points)

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# Research Brief: [Topic] (Date)

## Objective
[1-line research question]

## Key Findings
1. **[Finding 1]** — Source: [URL]
2. **[Finding 2]** — Source: [URL]
3. **[Finding 3]** — Source: [URL]

## Summary
[3-5 sentence synthesis of all findings]

## Sources
- [Source 1 Title](URL)
- [Source 2 Title](URL)

Template B: SWOT Analysis

text

# SWOT: [Company/Topic] (Date)

## Strengths (Internal Positive)
- [Strength 1] — Source: [URL]
- [Strength 2] — Source: [URL]

## Weaknesses (Internal Negative)
- [Weakness 1] — Source: [URL]
- [Weakness 2] — Source: [URL]

## Opportunities (External Positive)
- [Opportunity 1] — Source: [URL]
- [Opportunity 2] — Source: [URL]

## Threats (External Negative)
- [Threat 1] — Source: [URL]
- [Threat 2] — Source: [URL]

## Strategic Implications
[2-3 sentence synthesis of what the SWOT means]

Template C: Competitor Analysis

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# Competitive Analysis: [Industry/Segment] (Date)

## Market Overview
- Total addressable market: [data + source]
- Growth rate: [data + source]
- Key trends: [3-5 trends + sources]

## Competitor Profiles

### [Competitor A]
- **Position:** [Market leader / Challenger / Niche]
- **Revenue/Size:** [Data + source]
- **Key Strengths:** [...]
- **Key Weaknesses:** [...]
- **Recent Moves:** [1-2 notable events + source]

### [Competitor B]
...

## Competitive Map
| Dimension | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|:----------|:------------:|:------------:|:------------:|
| Market Share | X% | Y% | Z% |
| Pricing | High/Medium/Low | ... | ... |
| Feature Set | Full/Basic | ... | ... |

## Recommendations
[Based on the analysis]

Template D: Full Industry Research Report

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# Industry Report: [Industry Name] (Date)

## 1. Executive Summary
[3-5 sentence overview with key numbers]

## 2. Market Size & Growth
- Current market size: [data + year + source]
- CAGR: [X% + source]
- Forecast: [projected size + year + source]

## 3. Key Players
[Table of top 5-10 companies with market share, revenue, focus areas]

## 4. Trends & Drivers
1. **[Trend 1]** — [1-2 sentence explanation + source]
2. **[Trend 2]** — [1-2 sentence explanation + source]

## 5. Challenges & Risks
1. **[Risk 1]** — [1-2 sentence explanation + source]
2. **[Risk 2]** — [1-2 sentence explanation + source]

## 6. Regulatory Environment
[Key regulations, policies, compliance requirements + sources]

## 7. Outlook & Recommendations
[3-5 specific, actionable recommendations based on data]

## 8. Sources
For each source: [Title](URL) — confidence level

Source Citation Rules

Every factual claim in the output must include a source URL.

Format:

text

[Claim text] — Source: [Source Name](URL)

For reports with many sources, include a Sources section at the end with all URLs.

Blacklisting

Do not use these source types as primary sources:

• Anonymous forums (unless specifically investigating sentiment)
• Self-published/promotional content
• Unedited AI-generated content
• Clickbait aggregators with no original reporting

If a user asks for information from a blacklisted source type, warn them and find better sources.