Plan the research before collecting information.
Define the decision, break it into answerable questions and decide which evidence is actually needed. This helps prevent unfocused research and makes the final findings easier to verify.
Act as an experienced research strategist and analytical planner. TASK: Create a clear, practical research plan for the topic, question or decision described below. RESEARCH TOPIC: [What do you want to research?] RESEARCH GOAL: [What decision, understanding or outcome should the research support?] KEY QUESTION: [What is the main question you need answered?] SECONDARY QUESTIONS: [List any supporting questions.] TARGET MARKET / LOCATION: [Country, city, industry, customer group or online market if relevant.] TARGET AUDIENCE: [Who is affected by the research or who will use the findings?] TIME PERIOD: [Current, historical, last 12 months, next 3 years, etc.] AVAILABLE INFORMATION: [List what you already know.] KNOWN SOURCES: [List any websites, reports, databases, documents or internal sources already available.] CONSTRAINTS: [Budget, time, access, language, geography, data availability or other limits.] RESEARCH DEPTH: [Quick / Standard / Deep] OUTPUT PURPOSE: [Example: business decision, report, presentation, article, investment decision, comparison, strategy.] RESEARCH PLAN REQUIREMENTS: 1. DEFINE THE RESEARCH PROBLEM Rewrite the research goal into: - Primary research objective - Main research question - Supporting questions - Decision the research should support 2. SCOPE Define: - What is included - What is excluded - Geographic scope - Time scope - Customer / industry scope - Important assumptions Avoid allowing the research to become unnecessarily broad. 3. INFORMATION NEEDED Identify the specific information required to answer each research question. Examples: - market size - demand - customer needs - pricing - competitor information - regulations - costs - trends - operational requirements - risks 4. SOURCE STRATEGY Recommend the best source types. Prioritize where relevant: - Official government sources - Regulators - Company websites - Financial reports - Industry associations - Academic research - Reputable research organizations - Established news organizations - Marketplace data - Customer reviews - Interviews - Surveys - Internal business records Explain which sources should be used for which questions. 5. PRIMARY VS SECONDARY RESEARCH Separate the plan into: Secondary research: [Existing information to collect.] Primary research: [New information to collect directly.] Recommend primary research only when it would meaningfully improve the answer. 6. SEARCH STRATEGY Create useful research search themes and search queries. Group them by: - Market - Customers - Competitors - Pricing - Trends - Risks - Regulations - Operations Do not generate dozens of repetitive searches. 7. SOURCE QUALITY CHECK For every important source, evaluate: - Authority - Publication date - Relevance - Methodology - Possible bias - Primary vs secondary source Prefer original sources where possible. 8. FACT VERIFICATION For important facts: - Look for confirmation from multiple independent sources where appropriate. - Distinguish reported facts from estimates. - Record the source date. - Flag conflicting figures. Do not average conflicting numbers unless there is a valid methodological reason. 9. DATA COLLECTION STRUCTURE Recommend a simple format for recording research findings. Include fields such as: - Research question - Finding - Source - Publication date - Evidence type - Confidence level - Notes - Follow-up needed 10. GAP ANALYSIS Identify: - Missing information - Difficult-to-verify information - Assumptions - Contradictory evidence - Areas requiring primary research 11. ANALYSIS METHOD Explain how the collected evidence should be analyzed. Use methods appropriate to the topic, such as: - comparison - trend analysis - segmentation - SWOT - cost comparison - competitor benchmarking - thematic analysis - risk analysis Do not use a framework simply because it is popular. 12. RESEARCH SEQUENCE Arrange the work in the most efficient order. Start with research that could quickly invalidate the idea or answer the key question. 13. TIME PLAN Create a realistic sequence for: - initial research - source verification - data collection - analysis - gap filling - final synthesis If no deadline is provided, give a practical relative sequence rather than inventing dates. 14. DECISION CRITERIA Define what evidence would support: - Proceed - Proceed with changes - Conduct more research - Stop / reject Use criteria relevant to the actual decision. 15. FINAL RESEARCH OUTPUT Recommend the final structure of the research deliverable. Example: - Executive summary - Research objective - Method - Key findings - Evidence - Analysis - Risks - Information gaps - Conclusions - Recommendations 16. RESEARCH RISKS Identify possible issues such as: - outdated information - biased samples - weak sources - insufficient data - regional differences - selection bias - survivorship bias - misleading market estimates 17. FINAL CHECK Before concluding, verify: - Did the research answer the main question? - Is the evidence strong enough? - Are important claims sourced? - Are facts separated from assumptions? - Are uncertainties clearly stated? - Is further research actually necessary? OUTPUT FORMAT: 1. Research Objective 2. Key Research Questions 3. Scope 4. Information Required 5. Source Strategy 6. Primary Research Plan 7. Secondary Research Plan 8. Search Strategy 9. Source Evaluation Criteria 10. Data Collection Structure 11. Analysis Method 12. Research Sequence 13. Research Timeline 14. Decision Criteria 15. Research Risks 16. Information Gaps 17. Recommended Final Report Structure IMPORTANT: - Do not invent facts or research findings. - This task is to build the research plan, not pretend the research has already been completed. - Clearly separate known information from information that still needs to be researched. - Prefer authoritative and original sources. - Flag areas where current information will be required. - Avoid unnecessary research that does not contribute to the decision.
Use the prompt effectively.
Start with the decision
Explain what the research needs to help you decide. This keeps the plan focused on useful evidence instead of collecting information without a clear purpose.
Break the problem into questions
Separate the main research question into smaller questions about customers, market conditions, competitors, pricing, risks or operations.
Choose sources deliberately
Use official and primary sources for important facts, then add secondary sources and customer evidence where they provide additional context.
Define when research is enough
Set decision criteria before collecting data so you know when the evidence is strong enough to act.
Turn a business question into a research plan.
Topic: Whether to launch an online inventory setup service for small businesses.
Goal: Decide whether the idea should be tested commercially.
Market: Sri Lanka.
Customers: Small retailers, distributors and online sellers.
Main questions: Is there a real inventory-control problem, what solutions are already used and what might businesses pay for help?
Research depth: Standard.
Primary objective: Determine whether a commercially meaningful group of small businesses experiences inventory-control problems that are not adequately solved by their current processes or software.
Secondary research should examine the number and characteristics of target businesses, existing inventory software and consulting alternatives, visible pricing, digital adoption and relevant small-business trends.
Primary research should focus on interviews with business owners or operations staff to understand current stock-control problems, existing workarounds, willingness to change and willingness to pay.
Early validation should test the customer problem before investing heavily in detailed market sizing or service development.
Build more reliable research.
Research questions are more useful than topics
A broad topic such as 'small-business AI' can expand endlessly. A decision-focused question gives the research a clear stopping point.
Use primary sources for critical facts
Government statistics, regulators, original company information and first-party reports are usually stronger foundations than summaries repeating other sources.
Research uncertainty explicitly
A useful plan should show what cannot yet be verified instead of hiding uncertainty behind confident-looking conclusions.