research-methodology

name	research-methodology
description	Use when conducting research on any real-world topic — products, services, finance, health, travel, or life decisions. Ensures sources are fetched, cross-referenced, and not fabricated.

Research Methodology

Core principle

Never answer from training data alone. Always fetch real sources. Training data is stale. Prices change. Products get recalled. Companies fail. The only trustworthy answer is one backed by content fetched today.

Source hierarchy

Priority	Source type	Why
1st	Specialist review sites	Deep expertise, tested methodology
2nd	Community forums (Reddit, Reclame Aqui)	Real user experience, unfiltered
3rd	Official sources (manufacturer, gov)	Authoritative but potentially biased
4th	News articles	Current events, not always deep
Avoid	SEO content farms	Thin, keyword-stuffed, unreliable

Search strategy

Run multiple queries per topic — not just one:

• Broad: "best SUV 2025"
• Specific: "SUV reliability data 2025 Brazil"
• Community: "SUV Reddit recommendations family"
• Critical: "SUV problems complaints 2025"

One query = one perspective. Multiple queries = real picture.

Reading sources

Use WebFetch — not just search snippets.

A snippet says: "rated best in class" The full article says: "rated best in class but has known transmission issues after 60k km"

Always fetch. Always read.

Output structure

Every research output must include:

1. TL;DR — recommendation in 2 sentences
2. Why — top 3 reasons with data
3. Trade-offs — honest downsides
4. Alternatives — ranked options with key differences
5. Next steps — what to do now
6. Sources — URLs of everything consulted

Gotchas

• Recency: filter for last 12 months on fast-moving topics (tech, finance, crypto, telecom)
• Region: Brazil prices, availability, and regulations differ from US/EU — search in Portuguese first
• Reclame Aqui: always check for services and products sold in Brazil — it surfaces real complaints
• Conflicts: if two sources disagree, surface both — don't silently pick one
• Gaps: if you couldn't find reliable data on something important, say so explicitly
• Professionals: tag decisions with legal, medical, or tax implications — recommend a specialist