In Depth Research Guide

## Research Brief Template

**Central Question**: [One sentence, specific and falsifiable]
**Sub-Questions** (3-5):
  1. [Decomposed aspect 1]
  2. [Decomposed aspect 2]
  3. [Decomposed aspect 3]

**Inclusion Criteria**:
  - Time range: [e.g., 2018-present]
  - Languages: [e.g., English, Chinese]
  - Document types: [peer-reviewed, preprints, reports, patents]
  - Disciplines: [e.g., CS, cognitive science, linguistics]

**Exclusion Criteria**:
  - [Opinion pieces, blog posts without data]
  - [Studies with n < 30 unless qualitative]
  - [Duplicate publications of same study]

**Expected Deliverable**: [Literature review / Evidence map / Policy brief / State-of-art report]
**Depth Target**: [Exhaustive / Representative / Exploratory]

For each source:
1. Construct 3-5 query variants (synonyms, related terms, translated terms)
2. Apply inclusion/exclusion filters
3. Record: query string, date, results count, relevant hits
4. Download and tag all relevant items
5. Snowball: check references of key papers (backward) and citing papers (forward)

Level 1: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Level 2: Randomized controlled trials / controlled experiments
Level 3: Cohort studies / quasi-experimental designs
Level 4: Case-control studies / cross-sectional surveys
Level 5: Case reports / case series / expert opinion
Level 6: Anecdotal evidence / grey literature without methodology

□ Author credentials and affiliation
□ Publication venue (impact factor, peer-review process)
□ Methodology transparency (can you replicate it?)
□ Sample size and representativeness
□ Conflict of interest disclosure
□ Recency (is the data still relevant?)
□ Citation count and reception (supportive vs. critical citations)
□ Consistency with other sources (does it converge or contradict?)

## Contradiction: Effect of X on Y

**Position A**: X increases Y (Smith 2023, Jones 2024)
  - Evidence: RCT with n=500, effect size d=0.4
  - Context: University students, controlled setting

**Position B**: X has no effect on Y (Lee 2024)
  - Evidence: Field study with n=1200, p=0.34
  - Context: Industry practitioners, naturalistic setting

**Resolution hypothesis**: The effect is moderated by expertise level.
  Position A's sample (students) shows the effect;
  Position B's sample (practitioners) does not.
  → Need: Study that measures expertise as a moderator.

Central Question
├── Sub-Q1: [Strong evidence — 8 sources, convergent]
│   ├── Finding 1.1 (Level 2, 3 sources)
│   ├── Finding 1.2 (Level 3, 2 sources)
│   └── Finding 1.3 (Level 4, 3 sources)
├── Sub-Q2: [Mixed evidence — 5 sources, 1 contradiction]
│   ├── Finding 2.1 (Level 2, 2 sources)
│   └── Finding 2.2 ⚠️ CONTRADICTED by Finding 2.3
├── Sub-Q3: [Weak evidence — 2 sources, emerging area]
│   └── Finding 3.1 (Level 5, 2 sources)
└── Unexpected: [Theme that emerged during research]
    └── Finding 4.1 (Level 3, 1 source) → needs further investigation