web-research-brieflisted

When a task involves researching a topic via the browser pane and reporting back, structure the work so the output is usable without the reader having to re-do the research themselves: 1. **State the question you're actually answering** at the top, in your own words — a research brief that starts with findings but never states the question forces the reader to reverse-engineer what was being asked. 2. **Read enough sources to cross-check, not just the first hit.** A single page (especially a forum post, blog, or SEO-optimized summary page) can be wrong or outdated; corroborate a load-bearing claim against at least one more independent source before stating it as fact. 3. **Cite what you used.** Each non-obvious claim gets a source (title + URL), so the reader can verify or dig deeper — don't present synthesized conclusions as if they came from nowhere. 4. **Separate fact from inference.** Say plainly when you're stating what a source said versus when you're drawing a conclusion the sources didn't state directly — mixing the two erodes trust in both. 5. **Note what you couldn't confirm**, rather than silently dropping it — a stale page, a paywall, or conflicting sources are useful information in themselves ("sources disagree on X; A says ___, B says ___"). 6. **End with a direct answer**, not just a list of findings — if the original question was "should we do X," say what you'd conclude from the research, clearly separated from the supp