hainamchung Confidence-Weighted Research
Research outputs with explicit confidence levels and source hierarchy. Halts hallucination propagation by tagging unverified claims.
Core principle: Every claim tagged with confidence level and source. Investigation, not confirmation.
Source Hierarchy
| Priority | Source | Confidence | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Context7 | HIGH | Official library docs, version-specific |
| 2 | Official Docs | HIGH | Documentation, API references |
| 3 | WebSearch (verified) | MEDIUM | Community patterns, verified claims |
| 4 | WebSearch (unverified) | LOW | Single sources, training data only |
| 5 | Inference | LOW | LLM-generated without sources |
Research Output Format
# Research: [Topic]
## Executive Summary
[2-3 sentence overview]
## Findings
### Finding 1: [Title]
**Claim:** [What was found]
**Confidence:** HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW
**Source:** context7 | official-docs | websearch | inference
**Verified:** YES | NO | PARTIAL
**Evidence:**
- [Source 1 with URL]
- [Source 2 with URL]
### Finding 2: [Title]
...
Verification Protocol
For each finding:
- Is this from Context7 or official docs? → HIGH confidence
- Is this from verified WebSearch? → MEDIUM confidence
- Is this from unverified source? → LOW confidence, flag
- Multiple sources agree? → Increase confidence one level
Anti-Pattern: Confirmation Bias
Bad research: Start with hypothesis, find supporting evidence
Good research: Gather evidence, form conclusions from evidence
Don't find articles supporting your initial guess — find what the ecosystem actually uses and let evidence drive recommendations.
Confidence Levels
| Level | Meaning | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH | Verified by authoritative source | State as fact |
| MEDIUM | Verified by community, unverified by authority | State with attribution |
| LOW | Single source or inference only | Flag as needing validation |
Research Modes
| Mode | Trigger | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem | What exists for X? | Libraries, frameworks, standard stack |
| Feasibility | Can we do X? | Technical achievability, constraints |
| Comparison | Compare A vs B | Features, performance, DX |
Tool Strategy
Priority Order
- Context7 (highest) — Authoritative, current, version-aware
- Official Docs via WebFetch — Authoritative sources
- WebSearch — Ecosystem discovery
- Inference (lowest) — Only when other sources unavailable
For Each Finding
Is Context7 available? → YES → HIGH confidence
↓ NO
Is official docs available? → YES → HIGH confidence
↓ NO
Are multiple credible sources available? → YES → MEDIUM confidence
↓ NO
Single source or inference? → LOW confidence, flag for validation
Pre-Research Checklist
- Scan Context7 for library documentation
- Check official docs for authoritative sources
- Use WebSearch for community patterns
- Verify claims against multiple sources
Post-Research Checklist
- All findings tagged with confidence level
- All findings have source attribution
- LOW confidence findings flagged for validation
- Negative claims verified with official docs
Integration
Use with:
/ask:team— For knowledge synthesis/plan:team— For architecture decisions/researchcommands — For domain research
Anti-Hallucination Discipline
- Verify before asserting — Check Context7 or official docs
- Prefer current sources — Context7 and official docs trump training data
- Flag uncertainty — LOW confidence when only training data
- "I couldn't find X" is valuable — Investigate differently
- Sources contradict — Surface the ambiguity