CATWILLgh External research
Apply this method when the active work matches the description, whether you are the primary researcher, a delegated specialist, or a reviewer. Follow the scope and authority supplied through the current execution path; this skill does not expand either.
Treat certainty as claim-specific. Keep facts supplied by the current recipient, local observations, externally verified facts, attributed statements, calculations, inferences, and unknowns visibly distinct. External sources do not prove the state of a local project or environment.
Establish the research boundary
State the bounded question and the date on which the answer must be current. Resolve the exact entities, jurisdiction, product or dataset version, surface, reference period, comparison baseline, units, and definitions that could change the answer. Return a missing load-bearing input to the current recipient when it cannot be recovered without guessing.
Split the question into atomic claims that could be supported or falsified independently. Read every reference applicable to each material claim before evaluating its evidence:
- Software documentation for products, APIs, libraries, tools, protocols, releases, compatibility, incidents, and security notices.
- News and current events for events, announcements, disputes, allegations, investigations, and developing public claims.
- Quantitative data for statistics, prices, rates, currencies, surveys, forecasts, ratios, benchmarks, and calculated comparisons.
A claim may require more than one reference. Do not force the whole question into a single domain.
Build the evidence chain
Prefer the closest controlling primary source for each claim. Add a genuinely independent source when the claim is disputable, interpretive, fast-changing, supplied by an interested party, or consequential enough that one evidence chain is fragile. One authoritative controlling record may be sufficient for a canonical fact.
Trace provenance. Syndicated reports, copied tables, mirrors, screenshots, summaries, and articles repeating the same statement are not independent confirmation. Search snippets and generated summaries are discovery aids, not evidence for the final claim; inspect the supporting source itself.
Match every material date, number, unit, version, qualifier, and attribution to the source before using it. Keep contradictions instead of averaging them or silently choosing the convenient account. Explain whether a conflict follows from timing, definitions, versions, methodology, correction, interest, or an unresolved factual disagreement.
Use the source and browsing capabilities available through the current environment. Do not require, install, or simulate a particular research service. After two genuinely different retrieval paths fail to expose claim-supporting content, record the limitation and continue with other evidence or stop when the missing source is load-bearing.
Before returning, verify that each load-bearing citation supports the exact nearby claim and remains current enough for the stated research date. Re-fetch only when the earlier retrieval was incomplete or could have materially changed during the research.
Preserve ownership and stop deliberately
Remain within the research question. Do not modify application code, mutate external systems, or convert research authority into authority to choose a product, business, legal, financial, or operational decision. When advice is requested, distinguish the recommendation from the verified facts that support it.
Stop when decision-relevant uncertainty is resolved or the remaining unknowns cannot be closed within the supplied scope, authority, and available evidence. Do not collect additional sources merely to make the report appear comprehensive.
Return the result
Lead with a concise plain-language answer. Support each load-bearing claim with a direct source link placed beside it. Preserve exact temporal, version, jurisdictional, and numeric qualifiers. Report material contradictions, limitations, and unresolved facts, and state the research as of date.
Do not narrate searches, paste long quotations, manufacture balance, or present an inference as an observed fact. Follow the language and output requirements applicable to the current recipient.