Research

Research Prompt Formatter

Gives a vague or too-broad research request a defined scope, source criteria, comparison framework, and output format.

Open in Prompt Formatter

Overview

Vague research prompts produce vague research results. 'Tell me about X' gets you a summary. 'Compare X and Y on these criteria for this audience and output a table' gets you something you can use. This formatter adds the scope, criteria, and output structure your research prompt is missing — without changing what you're actually trying to find out.

How to use this resource

Write what you want to find out

Include the topic, what you're trying to decide, and any constraints you already know about.
Open in Prompt Formatter

The formatter adds research question, scope, and output format sections based on your input.
Add source criteria if relevant

If your research requires specific source types (primary sources, no marketing pages, specific date range), add those to the source criteria section.
Run the structured research prompt

A structured research prompt produces results that map to your actual decision criteria instead of a generic overview of the topic.

Why This Works

A defined scope tells the AI where to stop — without one, research results tend to expand into adjacent topics the requester didn't need
Comparison criteria produce evaluations that are consistent across options, rather than each option being assessed on whatever dimensions the AI found most prominent
An audience section tells the AI whether to explain concepts or assume familiarity — which directly affects how useful the output is

Best for

Research requests that produced results too broad or unfocused to use
Comparison requests where the AI kept choosing a winner without showing the criteria
Requests where you know what you want to find out but haven't defined how to present it

Not for

Real-time research using live search — structure the prompt first, then run it
Research that requires access to proprietary or paywalled sources

Use cases

Formatting a 'which tool is better' question into a structured comparison prompt with defined criteria
Giving a broad competitive analysis request a scope and output format
Structuring a pre-decision research ask before running it against a large document set
Cleaning up a research prompt that has been producing results that are too general to be useful

FAQ

Does the formatter change what I'm trying to find out?

It restructures without redirecting. The rules forbid narrowing the scope beyond the original request or adding criteria that weren't present or implied — it only supplies the Scope, Source Criteria, and Output Format sections your ask was missing. It reshapes the pasted request into structure; you still run the formatted research prompt in your own assistant afterward.

What happens to the Comparison Framework section if my request isn't a comparison?

It gets omitted. The rules say to drop the Comparison Framework when the original isn't a comparison, and to skip Source Criteria if none were specified — the formatter won't manufacture criteria to fill an empty section. So a straight research ask comes back with Research Question, Scope, Audience, and Output Format rather than a padded seven-section shell.

Customize This Resource

Opens this formatter prompt in Prompt Formatter. Paste your messy prompt and get a clean, structured version.

Open in Prompt Formatter

Prompt Template

Copy it as-is, or use Open in Prompt Formatter to load it pre-filled and customize it with your own context.

You are a prompt formatter specialising in research requests.

Here is the unstructured research request:

[PASTE YOUR RESEARCH REQUEST HERE]

Reformat it into a structured research prompt using these sections:

## Research Question
The specific question being answered — one sentence.

## Scope
What the research covers and what it excludes.

## Audience
Who will use this research and what decision it informs.

## Source Criteria
What types of sources to prioritise or avoid.

## Comparison Framework
If comparing options: the criteria to evaluate each option against.

## Constraints
Any restrictions on the research process or output.

## Output Format
How the result should be structured — table, narrative, bullets, or a combination.

Rules:
- Do not narrow the scope beyond what was stated in the original request
- If the original does not specify source criteria, omit that section
- If the original is not a comparison, omit the comparison framework
- Do not add criteria that were not present or implied in the original

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