Research & Synthesis

Enables comprehensive research workflows within Obsidian: search for information across your vault, analyze and synthesize findings from multiple notes, and create well-structured research documentation with proper citations.

Quick Start

When asked to research and document a topic:

1. Search vault: Use filesystem search, grep, and dataview to find relevant notes
2. Read notes: Parse markdown files and extract relevant information
3. Synthesize findings: Analyze and combine information from multiple sources
4. Create research note: Generate structured documentation with citations

Research Workflow

Step 1: Search for relevant information

Filesystem search:

# Search by filename
find /path/to/vault -name "*keyword*"

# Search file content
grep -r "search term" /path/to/vault/ --include="*.md"

# Search with context
grep -r -C 3 "search term" /path/to/vault/

# Case-insensitive search
grep -ri "keyword" /path/to/vault/

Search by frontmatter:

# Find notes with specific tag
grep -l "tags:.*keyword" /path/to/vault/**/*.md

# Find notes of specific type
grep -l "type: research" /path/to/vault/**/*.md

Dataview queries (if using Dataview plugin):

TABLE file.ctime, tags
FROM "research" OR "projects"
WHERE contains(file.name, "keyword")
   OR contains(tags, "#topic")
SORT file.mtime DESC

Search strategies:

• Topic-based: Search for concept or domain keywords
• Tag-based: Filter by relevant tags
• Date-based: Recent notes using mtime
• Author-based: Notes created by specific person
• Link-based: Notes linking to specific concept

Step 2: Read and extract information

For each relevant note:

# Read full note
cat /path/to/vault/note-name.md

# Read just frontmatter
head -20 /path/to/vault/note-name.md | sed -n '/^---$/,/^---$/p'

# Extract specific sections
sed -n '/## Section Name/,/^## /p' /path/to/vault/note-name.md

Extract and organize:

• Key concepts and definitions
• Data points and metrics
• Insights and analysis
• Quotes and specific claims
• Relationships between concepts
• Gaps in knowledge

Step 3: Analyze and synthesize

Identify patterns:

• Common themes across notes
• Contradictions or conflicts
• Knowledge gaps
• Complementary information
• Chronological developments

Connect concepts:

• How topics relate to each other
• Dependencies and prerequisites
• Cause and effect relationships
• Examples and counter-examples

Note limitations:

• Missing information
• Uncertain claims
• Areas needing more research
• Conflicting viewpoints

Step 4: Create research documentation

Choose output format:

• Research Summary: Quick overview with key findings (see reference/research-summary-template.md)
• Comprehensive Report: Detailed analysis with full citations (see reference/comprehensive-report-template.md)
• Literature Review: Academic-style review (see reference/literature-review-template.md)
• Synthesis Note: Integration of multiple sources (see reference/synthesis-note-template.md)

Create research note:

touch /path/to/vault/research/topic-research.md

See reference/format-selection-guide.md for choosing the right format.

Research Output Formats

Research Summary

Brief overview synthesizing key findings:

---
type: research-summary
topic: [Topic]
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - research
  - TOPIC
sources: X notes
---

# Research Summary: [Topic]

## Executive Summary
One paragraph capturing the main findings.

## Key Findings
1. Finding 1 [[source-note-1]]
2. Finding 2 [[source-note-2]]
3. Finding 3 [[source-note-3]]

## Main Themes
- Theme 1: Description
- Theme 2: Description

## Conclusions
Summary of insights and implications.

## Further Research
- Question 1
- Question 2

## Sources
- [[note-1]]
- [[note-2]]
- [[note-3]]

Comprehensive Report

Detailed analysis with full exploration:

---
type: research-report
topic: [Topic]
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - research
  - report
  - TOPIC
---

# Research Report: [Topic]

## Executive Summary
Comprehensive overview of research and conclusions.

## Background
Context and motivation for research.

## Methodology
How information was gathered and analyzed.

## Findings

### Theme 1: [Name]
Detailed discussion with evidence.

**Evidence from sources:**
- [[source-1]]: Specific claim or data
- [[source-2]]: Supporting information
- [[source-3]]: Additional context

### Theme 2: [Name]
Continue analysis...

## Analysis
Synthesis and interpretation of findings.

## Limitations
Gaps in current research and uncertainties.

## Conclusions
Key takeaways and implications.

## Recommendations
Actionable suggestions based on research.

## Further Research
Areas needing additional investigation.

## References
Complete list of source notes with brief descriptions.

See reference/comprehensive-report-template.md for full template.

Citation Patterns

Basic Citation

According to [[note-name]], the primary factor is X.

Citation with Context

The implementation pattern [[patterns/circuit-breaker]] suggests using exponential backoff.

Multiple Sources

Multiple sources ([[source-1]], [[source-2]], [[source-3]]) indicate that X is common.

Direct Quote Attribution

> "Key insight here"
> — [[person-name]] in [[meeting-notes-2025-10-15]]

Conflicting Sources

While [[source-1]] suggests X, [[source-2]] presents evidence for Y, indicating further investigation is needed.

Search Techniques

Content-Based Search

Exact phrase:

grep -r "exact phrase here" /path/to/vault/

Multiple keywords:

grep -r "keyword1" /path/to/vault/ | grep "keyword2"

Exclude certain directories:

grep -r "keyword" /path/to/vault/ --exclude-dir=".obsidian"

Metadata-Based Search

Find by tag:

grep -l "tags:.*#specific-tag" /path/to/vault/**/*.md

Find by type:

grep -l "type: research" /path/to/vault/**/*.md

Find by date range:

find /path/to/vault -name "*.md" -newermt "2025-01-01" -not -newermt "2025-12-31"

Link-Based Analysis

Find all notes linking to specific note:

grep -r "\[\[target-note\]\]" /path/to/vault/

Find orphan notes (no incoming links):

# Requires custom script
python scripts/find_orphans.py /path/to/vault

Find highly connected notes:

# Count outgoing links per note
for file in /path/to/vault/**/*.md; do
  count=$(grep -o "\[\[" "$file" | wc -l)
  echo "$count $file"
done | sort -rn | head -10

Synthesis Strategies

Thematic Synthesis

Group findings by common themes across sources.

Chronological Synthesis

Trace development of ideas over time.

Comparative Synthesis

Compare and contrast different perspectives.

Integrative Synthesis

Build unified understanding from diverse sources.

Quality Checks

Before finalizing research:

• All claims cited to source notes
• Contradictions noted and explained
• Knowledge gaps identified
• Key themes clearly articulated
• Executive summary captures essence
• Recommendations are actionable
• Further research questions listed
• All source links valid

Best Practices

1. Search broadly first: Cast wide net initially
2. Read critically: Evaluate quality and relevance of sources
3. Take structured notes: Extract key points during reading
4. Cite consistently: Always link to source notes
5. Note conflicts: Document disagreements between sources
6. Identify gaps: What's missing from current knowledge
7. Synthesize, don't summarize: Create new understanding
8. Write for audience: Tailor depth and tone appropriately

Advanced Techniques

Network Analysis

Examine connection patterns between notes to identify central concepts and knowledge clusters.

Temporal Analysis

Track how understanding of topic evolved over time based on note creation/modification dates.

Gap Analysis

Systematically identify what's not documented in vault.

Source Quality Assessment

Evaluate reliability and depth of different source notes.

Dataview Research Queries

Find all research on topic:

LIST
FROM #research
WHERE contains(file.name, "topic")
   OR contains(tags, "#specific-tag")
SORT file.mtime DESC

Research by recency:

TABLE file.ctime as "Created", tags
FROM "research"
SORT file.ctime DESC
LIMIT 20

Find related research:

TABLE file.outlinks as "References"
FROM "research"
WHERE file.name = this.file.name
FLATTEN file.outlinks

Common Issues

"Too many results":

• Add more specific keywords
• Filter by date range
• Search within specific folders
• Use tag combinations

"Results not relevant":

• Try different search terms
• Check synonyms and related concepts
• Search by links rather than content

"Missing key information":

• Note gaps in research note
• Create follow-up research tasks
• Ask for clarification from original authors

"Conflicting information":

• Document both perspectives
• Note level of confidence
• Suggest resolution approach

Scripts

scripts/vault_search.py: Advanced vault searching scripts/extract_citations.py: Extract all citations from note scripts/validate_links.py: Check for broken links scripts/find_related.py: Find notes related to topic scripts/generate_bibliography.py: Create formatted source list

Examples

See examples/ for complete workflows:

• examples/topic-research.md - Comprehensive topic research
• examples/quick-synthesis.md - Rapid synthesis
• examples/literature-review.md - Academic-style review