Web Research

[IMPORTANT] Use TaskCreate to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

Prerequisites: MUST READ before executing:

• .claude/skills/shared/web-research-protocol.md

External Memory: For complex or lengthy work (research, analysis, scan, review), write intermediate findings and final results to a report file in plans/reports/ — prevents context loss and serves as deliverable.

Evidence Gate: MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST — every claim, finding, and recommendation requires file:line proof or traced evidence with confidence percentage (>80% to act, <80% must verify first).

Quick Summary

Goal: Execute broad web search on a topic, collect and classify sources, build a structured source map.

Workflow:

1. Define scope — Parse topic, generate 5-10 search queries from varied angles
2. Execute searches — Run WebSearch for each query, collect results
3. Source triage — Classify each source by Tier (1-4), filter duplicates
4. Build source map — Write structured source list to working file
5. Identify gaps — Note underexplored angles for deep-research

Key Rules:

• Maximum 10 WebSearch calls per invocation
• Follow source hierarchy from web-research-protocol.md
• Output intermediate source map, not final report

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Web Research

Step 1: Define Search Scope

Parse the user's topic and generate 5-10 search queries that cover:

• Definition/overview — "what is {topic}"
• Current state — "{topic} 2026" or "{topic} latest"
• Comparison — "{topic} vs alternatives"
• Data/statistics — "{topic} market size" or "{topic} statistics"
• Expert opinion — "{topic} expert analysis" or "{topic} review"
• Criticism/risks — "{topic} challenges" or "{topic} risks"

Step 2: Execute Searches

For each query:

1. Run WebSearch with the query
2. Record: title, URL, snippet, apparent source type
3. Stop at 10 WebSearch calls maximum

Step 3: Source Triage

For each result, classify by Tier:

• Tier 1: .gov, .edu, official docs, peer-reviewed
• Tier 2: Industry reports, major publications
• Tier 3: Established blogs, verified experts, Wikipedia
• Tier 4: Forums, personal blogs, social media

Filter out duplicates (same URL or same content from syndication).

Step 4: Build Source Map

Write to .claude/tmp/_sources-{slug}.md:

# Source Map: {Topic}

**Date:** {date}
**Queries executed:** {count}
**Sources found:** {count} (Tier 1: N, Tier 2: N, Tier 3: N, Tier 4: N)

## Sources

| #   | Title | URL | Tier | Relevance | Notes         |
| --- | ----- | --- | ---- | --------- | ------------- |
| 1   | ...   | ... | 1    | High      | Official docs |

## Gaps Identified

- {angle not covered}
- {topic needing deeper research}

Step 5: Identify Gaps

Review source map for:

• Missing perspectives (only positive sources? need criticism)
• Missing data types (no quantitative data? need statistics)
• Recency issues (all sources old? need current data)

Note gaps for the deep-research step.

IMPORTANT Task Planning Notes (MUST FOLLOW)

• Always plan and break work into many small todo tasks using TaskCreate
• Always add a final review todo task to verify work quality and identify fixes/enhancements

Workflow Recommendation

IMPORTANT MUST: If you are NOT already in a workflow, use AskUserQuestion to ask the user:

1. Activate research workflow (Recommended) — web-research → deep-research → synthesis → review
2. Execute /web-research directly — run this skill standalone

Next Steps

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST after completing this skill, use AskUserQuestion to recommend:

• "/deep-research (Recommended)" — Deep-dive into top sources
• "/business-evaluation" — If evaluating business viability
• "Skip, continue manually" — user decides

Closing Reminders

MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST break work into small todo tasks using TaskCreate BEFORE starting. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST validate decisions with user via AskUserQuestion — never auto-decide. MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST add a final review todo task to verify work quality.