# Research Questions Using Primary Sources

Technical research consumes time and often relies on unsupported secondary summaries. This skill delegates source review and saves cited findings in a repository Markdown file.

## Install

```bash
npx skillstore add mattpocock/research
```

## Metadata

- Status: approved
- Slug: mattpocock-research
- Skillstore revision: r2
- Version status: missing
- Tree hash: e83570d6ae296d43dadea1deb6dbcdec0b8b14c2f1ef1cfc2e05b71939d60ca4
- Author: mattpocock
- GitHub username: mattpocock
- License: MIT
- Repository: https://github.com/mattpocock/skills/tree/main/skills/engineering/research/
- Ref: ebdfe608f5de2b66ff37ab4af12af8ac4f5e8006
- Supported tools: Claude, Codex, Claude Code
- Audit status: complete
- Agent install advisory: allowed
- Manual install advisory: allowed
- Artifact signature: available
- Audit attestation: unavailable
- Human verification: not\_verified
- Quality score: 77
- Quality tier: bronze
- Public page: https://skillstore.pages.dev/skills/mattpocock-research
- Manifest: https://skillstore.pages.dev/api/skills/mattpocock-research/manifest

## Capabilities

- Delegates research to a background agent.
- Prioritizes official documentation, source code, specifications, and first-party APIs.
- Requires each claim to trace back to its owning source.
- Writes findings and citations to one Markdown file.
- Uses existing repository conventions when choosing the file location.
- Reports the chosen location when no convention exists.

## Use Cases

- Verify API Behavior: Trace an API question through official documentation, specifications, and source code, then save a cited technical note.
- Prepare Product Evidence: Collect first-party evidence for a product decision and preserve the findings for later review.
- Build Documentation References: Gather authoritative sources before drafting documentation, tutorials, or migration guidance.

## Prompt Templates

### Research a Question

```
Investigate {question} using primary sources. Save a cited Markdown note that follows this repository's conventions.
```

### Verify API Details

```
Research how {API} handles {behavior}. Verify each claim with official documentation, specifications, first-party APIs, or source code, then save the findings.
```

### Compare Technical Options

```
Compare {option A} and {option B} for {decision}. Use primary evidence, document gaps or disagreements, and save a decision-focused Markdown report.
```

### Map Complex Evidence

```
Build an evidence map for {complex question}. Trace conclusions through specifications, source code, documentation, and first-party APIs, recording uncertainty and conflicts.
```

## Limitations

- Requires an environment that supports background agents and repository file access.
- Cannot guarantee that primary sources are available, complete, or current.
- Does not define a required citation format or report structure.
- Does not provide independent fact checking beyond tracing claims to sources.

## Best Practices

- Ask a narrow question with explicit scope and decision criteria.
- Prefer current first-party sources and record version or date context.
- Review the saved note for citation accuracy before using its conclusions.

## Anti Patterns

- Do not treat secondary articles as authoritative when primary sources exist.
- Do not request broad research without defining the question or intended decision.
- Do not present uncertain or conflicting evidence as a confirmed fact.

## Security Audit

- Audited at: 2026-07-23T16:37:50.413\+00:00
- Summary: Static analysis found no suspicious patterns, and semantic review found no prompt injection or harmful intent. The prompt-only skill contains no executable code.

## Stats

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- Downloads: 8
- Favorites: 0
- Popularity score: 0