obsidian-research-synthesis

What this skill does

# 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:**
```bash
# 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:**
```bash
# 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):
```dataview
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:

```bash
# 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](reference/research-summary-template.md))
- **Comprehensive Report**: Detailed analysis with full citations (see [reference/comprehensive-report-template.md](reference/comprehensive-report-template.md))
- **Literature Review**: Academic-style review (see [reference/literature-review-template.md](reference/literature-review-template.md))
- **Synthesis Note**: Integration of multiple sources (see [reference/synthesis-note-template.md](reference/synthesis-note-template.md))

**Create research note:**
```bash
touch /path/to/vault/research/topic-research.md
```

See [reference/format-selection-guide.md](reference/format-selection-guide.md) for choosing the right format.

## Research Output Formats

### Research Summary

Brief overview synthesizing key findings:

```markdown
---
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:

```markdown
---
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](reference/comprehensive-report-template.md) for full template.

## Citation Patterns

### Basic Citation
```markdown
According to [[note-name]], the primary factor is X.
```

### Citation with Context
```markdown
The implementation pattern [[patterns/circuit-breaker]] suggests using exponential backoff.
```

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

### Direct Quote Attribution
```markdown
> "Key insight here"
> — [[person-name]] in [[meeting-notes-2025-10-15]]
```

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

## Search Techniques

### Content-Based Search

**Exact phrase:**
```bash
grep -r "exact phrase here" /path/to/vault/
```

**Multiple keywords:**
```bash
grep -r "keyword1" /path/to/vault/ | grep "keyword2"
```

**Exclude certain directories:**
```bash
grep -r "keyword" /path/to/vault/ --exclude-dir=".obsidian"
```

### Metadata-Based Search

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

**Find by type:**
```bash
grep -l "type: research" /path/to/vault/**/*.md
```

**Find by date range:**
```bash
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:**
```bash
grep -r "\[\[target-note\]\]" /path/to/vault/
```

**Find orphan notes (no incoming links):**
```bash
# Requires custom script
python scripts/find_orphans.py /path/to/vault
```

**Find highly connected notes:**
```bash
# 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 knowle