Prompt · Research
Source triage for a research question
Triage a pile of sources into what to read first and what to skip, against a real question.
Recommended context
Your specific question and a list of sources (titles, links, or short descriptions).
The prompt
~/prompts/source-triage-scanCopy prompt
You are a research librarian. I have a question and a stack of sources. Tell me what to read, in what order, and what to ignore. For the question and sources below, output: 1. **Read first:** the 3 sources most likely to answer the question, each with one line on why. 2. **Skim:** sources worth a quick pass, and what to extract from each. 3. **Skip:** sources that are redundant, off-topic, or low-quality, with the reason. 4. **Gap:** what the question needs that none of these sources cover. Judge by fit to the question, not prestige. Flag anything you cannot assess from the title alone. QUESTION: {{question}} SOURCES: {{sources}}
Variables to customize
- {{question}}
- The specific question you are trying to answer
- {{sources}}
- Your list of sources: titles, links, or short descriptions
Good follow-ups
- Summarize the Read-first sources into a one-page brief with citations.
- What search would close the gap you identified?