res-research-brieflisted

# Research Brief ## The brief's job Fix **"what decision, and what answer lets me make it"**, not "what to investigate". If the investigation itself is the goal, that's execution, not a brief (→ `res-deep-research`). ## Components (6 sections) 1. **Context & purpose**: why now, and the single decision this output will inform — in one sentence. 2. **3–5 core questions**: each with a one-liner "if we get this answer, what do we do". Each question must be independently searchable. 3. **Scope & exclusions**: included regions, periods, languages + **what is explicitly excluded**. A brief without exclusions has failed scoping. 4. **Success criteria**: pre-agree what level of evidence (number of primary sources, sample size, etc.) counts as "research complete". 5. **Constraints**: deadline, confidentiality, accessible data, excluded channels. 6. **Output contract**: audience (decision-maker), length, lead-in format. ## Quality check - Is every question observable — rewrite any "what do you think"-style opinion question. - Plan for missing data: define "if no primary sources, the second-tier fallback evidence" alongside. - Is it a scope achievable in 2 weeks of research — if not, split into 3 questions and write a separate brief. ## Output ``` # Research Brief — {topic} ## Decision sentence (the one decision this research informs) ## Core questions (question | if answered → action | success criteria) ## Scope · exclusions · constraints table ## Research plan (approach per source