# Research Synthesis

> Synthesize multiple sources — articles, reports, notes, transcripts — into one structured brief with themes, agreements, contradictions, and gaps. Use when the user says "synthesize this research", "combine these sources", "what do these articles agree on", or has a folder of collected material and needs one coherent picture.

- Skill: `sgharlow/research-synthesis` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sgharlow/research-synthesis`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sgharlow/research-synthesis/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: sgharlow (https://skillmd.com/u/sgharlow)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sgharlow/research-synthesis

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# Research Synthesis

Merge a pile of sources into a single brief that shows where the sources agree, where they
conflict, and what none of them answer. Synthesis is cross-source structure — not a stack
of per-source summaries.

## Steps

1. Inventory the sources: list every file or link the user provides with a one-line
   description and its type (primary data, reporting, opinion, marketing). Confirm the
   research question the synthesis must answer — without one, ask before reading further.
2. Read each source, capturing per source: its main claims, the evidence offered, its date,
   and any obvious bias or interest.
3. Build the synthesis across sources:
   - **Themes** — 3–6 recurring threads, each citing which sources support it.
   - **Consensus** — claims multiple independent sources agree on (note when "agreement"
     is really one origin quoted many times).
   - **Contradictions** — where sources conflict, shown side by side with each side's
     evidence; do not silently resolve a conflict by picking a winner.
   - **Gaps** — what the research question needs that no source answers.
   - **Bottom line** — 3–5 sentences answering the research question, at the confidence
     the evidence actually supports.
4. Verify: every claim in the brief carries a source attribution; any claim traceable to
   only one source is marked `single-source`. If two sources' dates differ by years, flag
   which may be stale rather than averaging them.

## Constraints

- Never pad thin evidence into a confident conclusion — "the sources don't establish this"
  is a valid and often the correct bottom line.
- Keep the brief under two pages; the per-source inventory goes in an appendix, not the body.

Full walkthrough, examples, and variations: `recipes/Recipe-007-Research-Synthesis.md`.