Research Report Style Guide

Research reports are deep-dive investigations that serve two functions:

1. Comprehensive analysis with citations from authoritative sources
2. Input for diagram creation—reports inform causal models

View all reports: /knowledge-base/research-reports/

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Quick Reference

Required Sections: Executive Summary (table), Background, Key Findings, Causal Factors (tables), Open Questions (table), Sources

Key Rules:

• Use tables for factors/summaries, not bullets
• Escape $ as \$ in currency
• Include 3-4 Asides per report
• Dates without quotes: createdAt: 2025-01-07

---

Report Structure

---
title: "Topic Name: Research Report"
description: "One-sentence summary with data (escape \\$ signs)."
topic: "entity-id"
createdAt: 2025-01-07      # No quotes
lastUpdated: 2025-01-07
researchDepth: "standard"  # quick | standard | comprehensive
sources: ["web", "codebase"]
quality: 3
---

Section	Purpose	Format
Executive Summary	Key findings	Table
Background	Context	Prose + Aside
Key Findings	Results	Prose + tables
Causal Factors	For diagrams	Tables by strength
Open Questions	Uncertainties	Table
Sources	Citations	Lists by type

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Causal Factors Format

Critical for Diagrams

This section directly feeds into cause-effect diagram creation. Tables ensure factors map cleanly to diagram nodes.

### Primary Factors (Strong Influence)

| Factor | Direction | Type | Evidence | Confidence |
|--------|-----------|------|----------|------------|
| **Immigration Policy** | ↑↓ Topic | leaf | Evidence | High |

### Secondary Factors (Medium Influence)

| Factor | Direction | Type | Evidence | Confidence |
|--------|-----------|------|----------|------------|
| **Graduate Programs** | ↑ Topic | cause | Evidence | Medium |

Columns:

• Direction: ↑ (increases), ↓ (decreases), ↑↓ (bidirectional)
• Type: leaf (external), cause (derived), intermediate (direct)
• Confidence: High, Medium, Low

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Research Depth

Level	Time	Sources	Use When
quick	15-30 min	5-10	Initial exploration
standard	1-2 hours	15-25	Most topics
comprehensive	3-5 hours	30-50+	Critical topics

View Source Hierarchy

Priority	Source Type	Examples	Trust
1	Peer-reviewed	Nature, Science, arXiv	High
2	Expert orgs	RAND, Brookings, FHI	High
3	Government	GAO, UK AISI, NIST	High
4	Journalism	Reuters, AP	Medium
5	Industry	McKinsey, OECD	Medium
6	Forums	LessWrong, EA Forum	Variable
7	Company blogs	OpenAI, Anthropic	Medium

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Section Templates

View Executive Summary Template

Use a table, not bullets:

## Executive Summary

| Finding | Key Data | Implication |
|---------|----------|-------------|
| **US dominance** | 57% of top researchers | US remains primary hub |
| **Policy risk** | \$100K H-1B fee | May accelerate brain drain |
| **Key uncertainty** | Immigration policy | Critical inflection point |

View Open Questions Template

## Open Questions

<Aside type="note" title="Key Uncertainties">
These questions represent the highest-value areas for follow-up research.
</Aside>

| Question | Why It Matters | Current State |
|----------|----------------|---------------|
| **Will H-1B fees persist?** | \$100K changes economics | May face legal challenge |
| **Is China's surge sustainable?** | 47% share may be temporary | Depends on retention |

View Formatting Guidelines

Use Tables Over Bullet Lists:

# Bad (low density)
**Factor Name**
- Direction: Increases
- Type: leaf

# Good (table format)
| Factor | Direction | Type |
|--------|-----------|------|
| **Factor Name** | ↑ Topic | leaf |

Escape Dollar Signs:

Wrong	Right
$100,000	\$100,000
$5B	\$5B

Also escape in frontmatter: description: "Fees increased to \\$100K"

Use Asides Liberally (3-4 per report):

<Aside type="tip" title="Why This Matters">
Key insight about safety implications.
</Aside>

<Aside type="caution" title="Limitation">
Important caveat about the data.
</Aside>

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Integration with Diagrams

Report Column	Diagram Element
Factor	Node label
Type	Node type
Direction (↑/↓)	Edge effect
Section (Primary/Secondary)	Edge strength
Confidence	Edge confidence

Workflow: Report → Extract factors → Create diagram → Link both

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Quality Levels

Level	Criteria
1-2	Basic outline, 10-15 sources, gaps
3	Solid coverage, 15-25 sources
4	Comprehensive, 25-35 sources
5	Authoritative, 35+ sources, original synthesis

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Validation

npm run validate:mdx
npm run validate:dollars

View Validation Checklist

Check	Problem	Fix
Dollar signs escaped	LaTeX rendering	$ → \$
Dates unquoted	Schema fails	Remove quotes
Tables used	Low density	Convert bullets
Asides included	Missing insights	Add 3-4
Sources organized	Hard to assess	Group by type
Links valid	Broken refs	Test URLs

View Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Bullet lists for factors	Use tables
Unescaped $	Use \$
Quoted dates	Remove quotes
No Asides	Add 3-4 callouts
Flat hierarchy	Use h2/h3
Missing validation	Run validators

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File Location

Path: src/content/docs/knowledge-base/research-reports/

Naming: kebab-case matching topic ID (e.g., ai-talent-concentration.mdx)