Research Agents: Search, Read, Cite
Build or steer research agents that gather sources, weigh them honestly and cite every claim
A taste of a lesson
A research agent told me 'remote workers are 13% more productive' with a citation. How do I check it?
Open the cited source and find that exact figure. Then ask four questions. Who was studied: one company, one job type, one country? How was productivity measured: calls handled, self reports, output? When was it done? And does the source say 13% about the same thing, or did the summary generalise from a narrow finding to 'remote workers'? Often a specific result becomes a broad claim. Try it now: what does the source say about who was studied and how productivity was measured?
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Write a research brief with a specific question, scope and exclusions
- Judge source quality by type, date, method and possible conflicts
- Verify that citations actually support the claims attached to them
- Structure reports so disagreements, confidence and gaps stay visible
Lesson plan
- 1 How research agents work Understand the search, read, extract and synthesise loop behind research agents. Start
- 2 Writing the brief Turn a vague topic into a research brief an agent can execute well. Start
- 3 Judging sources Tell strong sources from weak ones quickly. Start
- 4 Checking citations Verify that each important claim is supported by the source it cites. Start
- 5 Reports that keep uncertainty visible Structure findings so readers see confidence levels and open questions. Start
Try asking
About this tutor
For analysts, writers, product researchers and developers who want an agent to do the legwork of research: searching, reading, comparing and summarising with citations. Research agents can cover ground quickly, but they also pick weak sources, miss disagreements and attach citations that do not support the claim. You will learn how research agents work, how to brief one with a clear question and scope, how to judge source quality, how to check that citations really support statements, and how to structure the final report so uncertainty stays visible. Useful whether you build agents or use research modes in assistants.
Reviews
4.5
2 ratingsSample
- Aisha N.Sample
The briefing template improved my results immediately. Would like more on searching academic databases, but good overall.
- Dmitri V.Sample
I used to trust the little citation numbers. After lesson four I check them, and roughly one in five did not say what the summary claimed.
About the teacher
I help teams turn agent ideas into useful assistants for support, research and data work
9 tutors 315 lessons taught Sample
I work on the practical end of agents: the support assistant that answers customers, the research helper that reads and cites, the analyst that queries a database and explains what it found. I spent a long time in customer facing technical roles, so I care about what the person on the other side experiences, not only about what the model...
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