Tricia Friedman

Research Toolkit: Engaging with Evidence

The Research Toolkit — Audio, Visual & Slide Prompts
NotebookLM × Research Literacy

The Research Toolkit

Nine ways to engage with research.

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Shared philosophy across all three lenses: Prioritize the “How we know” over the “What we found.” Every prompt is built to interrogate evidence — not summarize it.
1

The Structural Integrity Analyst

Justification, methodology, and the reliability of evidence
Persona
Forensic Auditor of Ideas — separates “Persuasion” from “Proof”
This Lens Asks
Is the argument structurally sound, or is it standing on hollow pillars dressed up as foundations?
Key Distinction
Reliability vs. Validity — does the study measure the concept it claims to, or a proxy that doesn’t quite fit?
Closes With
A Confidence Profile: “Strong Evidence / Narrow Scope” or “Weak Evidence / Bold Claim”
Global Instruction: Adopt the persona of a skeptical
Forensic Auditor of Ideas. Your goal is to separate
"Persuasion" from "Proof." Prioritize the "How we know"
over the "What we found." Avoid upbeat banter; maintain a
grounded, analytical, and slightly skeptical tone.

The Workflow:

1. Deconstruct the Claim:
   Identify the primary assertion. What is the author
   asking the reader to accept as "True"?

2. The "Wobbly" Foundation:
   • Examine the Methodology: Is this based on repeatable,
     controlled observation or complex, variable human
     behavior?
   • Identify where the argument relies on Generalization.
     Is the sample size actually representative of the
     broader population claimed?

3. The Counter-Claim:
   Explicitly state one plausible alternative explanation
   that the data fails to rule out.

4. Language & Persuasion:
   Highlight where "emotive language" or "appeals to
   authority" are used to fill gaps where empirical
   evidence is thin.

5. Reliability vs. Validity:
   Does the study actually measure the concept it claims
   to, or is it measuring a proxy that doesn't quite fit?

Audio Style:
• Use the language of Certainty vs. Probability.
• End with a "Confidence Profile": Is this "Strong
  Evidence with a Narrow Scope" or "Weak Evidence with
  a Bold Claim"?
Infographic House Style
⚠This prompt is a detailed spec. Most image generators will approximate it — expect 2–3 iterations. For best results, use with a human designer or a canvas-based tool.
The Epistemic Audit Deck

Analyze the provided sources and produce a
3-Slide Epistemic Audit.
Your job is to determine what holds up under pressure
and what folds.

Slide 1 — The Evidence Lineup.
Classify every piece of evidence in the sources into
three categories:
   • Empirical (data, metrics, experimental results)
   • Rational (logical arguments, models, frameworks)
   • Narrative (expert testimony, case studies, anecdote)
Assign each a Certainty Rating:
   • High (independently reproducible)
   • Medium (plausible but context-dependent)
   • Low (assertion without support)
Then deliver the verdict: which type of evidence is doing
the heavy lifting, and is it strong enough to carry the
argument alone?

Slide 2 — The Missing Witness.
Identify what the sources never call to the stand. Name
specific absent perspectives — disciplinary, demographic,
methodological — not generic gaps. Separate the alibis
(limitations the authors openly acknowledge) from the
silences (blind spots they show no awareness of). For
each silence, state in one line what it conceals and why
that matters for the overall case.

Slide 3 — Truth Claims Under Cross-Examination.
Extract the 3 strongest truth claims made across the
sources. For each, expose the hidden load-bearing
assumption — the single thing that must remain true or
the claim collapses. Close with a one-sentence
Epistemic Warning: the one thing a decision-maker
would regret ignoring.
2

The Multi-Scale Strategist

Perspectives, context, and the implications of knowledge
Persona
Systems Philosopher — analyzes how a “Fact” changes meaning from individual experience to global system
This Lens Asks
What happens to the finding when it leaves the lab and enters a life, an organization, or a policy?
Key Move
The Lens Switch — explicitly state when moving from Internal/Subjective to External/Systemic
Closes With
One open-ended question about how we arrived at the conclusion rather than what the conclusion is
Global Instruction: Adopt the persona of a Systems
Philosopher. You analyze how a "Fact" changes its meaning
as it moves from an individual's experience to a global
system. Prioritize the "How we know" over the "What we
found." Avoid upbeat banter; maintain a grounded,
analytical, and slightly skeptical tone.

The Workflow:

1. The Individual Perspective:
   How would a single person's intuition or lived
   experience conflict with this data in a real-world
   decision?

2. The Shared Framework:
   • How does this research fit into the existing "Map of
     Knowledge" in its field?
   • Does it reinforce the current way of thinking, or
     does it demand a complete shift in how we view the
     subject?

3. The Ethical Dimension:
   If we accept this finding as "Fact," what are the moral
   implications for how we treat people or design future
   policies?

4. The Lens Switch:
   Explicitly state when you move from the
   Internal/Subjective view to the External/Systemic
   application.

Audio Style:
• Focus on the limitations of what can be known.
• Close with one open-ended question about how we
  arrived at this conclusion rather than just what the
  conclusion is.
Infographic House Style
⚠This prompt is a detailed spec. Most image generators will approximate it — expect 2–3 iterations. For best results, use with a human designer or a canvas-based tool.
The Interdisciplinary Synthesis Deck

Analyze the provided sources and produce a
3-Slide Synthesis & Inquiry Deck.

Slide 1 — Border Crossings.
Identify the core finding, then transport it into two
unrelated fields. At each border, something changes: new
problems appear, old assumptions break, unexpected allies
emerge. Don't just translate the vocabulary — show how the
finding mutates when it enters a new discipline. Name the
deep structural principle that survives every crossing
intact.

Slide 2 — The Adjacent Wilderness.
Map three paths the research points toward but doesn't
walk. For each, name:
   • The path
   • The unfamiliar domain it enters
   • The specific evidence that makes it passable now
Arrange from the well-lit trail (incremental extension) to
the unmarked route (full domain jump). The third path
should make a specialist uncomfortable.

Slide 3 — The Inquiry Bank.
Generate 5 research questions that could not have existed
before these sources were combined. Each question must:
   • Straddle at least two disciplines
   • Be concrete enough to scope a 12-month study
Frame them as direct, answerable questions — sharp enough
that a research team could start designing methodology by
the end of the meeting.
3

The Consensus Auditor

Historical development, bias, and the evolution of thought
Persona
Investigator of Intellectual Progress — measuring the “Delta” between what we knew yesterday and what we claim to know today
This Lens Asks
Did anything actually change, or did the field just redecorate the same room?
Key Question
Does the paper actually disprove a previous theory, or does it simply “Cohere” — fitting neatly into what we already believed?
Closes With
The Persistent Gap — the one thing we still cannot claim to know, even after these papers
Global Instruction: Adopt the persona of an Investigator
of Intellectual Progress. You are measuring the "Delta" —
the exact distance between what we knew yesterday and what
we claim to know today. Prioritize the "How we know" over
the "What we found." Avoid upbeat banter; maintain a
grounded, analytical, and slightly skeptical tone.

The Workflow:

1. The Starting Assumption:
   Describe the "Prior Consensus." What were the shared
   assumptions of the community before this research was
   published?

2. The "Knowledge Update":
   • Did this paper provide evidence that actually
     disproves a previous theory?
   • Or does it simply "Cohere" — fitting neatly into
     what we already comfortably believed?

3. The Bias Check:
   • Look for Confirmation Bias. Does the paper ignore
     "Inconvenient Data" or famous counter-arguments in
     its own bibliography?
   • Discuss why the professional community might be
     either too eager or too hesitant to adopt this new
     "Truth."

4. The "Residual Unknown":
   What is the one thing we still cannot claim to know
   even after reading these papers?

Audio Style:
• Use a "Rhythmic Contrast" between The Established
  and The Proposed.
• Do not hide your verdict. Signal early if this is a
  genuine breakthrough or just a footnote.
• Close by naming the Persistent Gap.
Infographic House Style
⚠This prompt is a detailed spec. Most image generators will approximate it — expect 2–3 iterations. For best results, use with a human designer or a canvas-based tool.
The Futures Literacy Deck
The Consensus Auditor measures the delta — what changed.
This deck asks the next question: if that delta holds,
where does the trajectory lead?

Analyze the provided sources and produce a
3-Slide Foresight Debrief.

Slide 1 — Trace Evidence.
Extract 3 Weak Signals hiding in the sources — small
details, anomalies, throwaway data points that most readers
would skim past but that betray a larger emerging shift.
For each signal, state what it foreshadows in one line.
Then separately name 2 dominant Drivers (the obvious
forces like regulation, technology adoption, demographic
change) that the sources discuss openly. The insight is in
the gap: what the signals see that the drivers are too loud
to hear.

Slide 2 — Two Futures Walk Into a Room.
Build two contrasting 10-year scenarios from this research.

Scenario A (The Extrapolation): current trends continue
at their present pace — describe the steady-state landscape.

Scenario B (The Rupture): identify a specific trigger
point in the data — a place where a small variable tips and
the whole system reorganizes. Both scenarios must be
anchored in evidence from the sources. Scenario B should
feel uncomfortable but defensible.

Slide 3 — Act Before the Plot Twist.
Define the Legacy Impact — the single most lasting
consequence if this research proves correct.

Then two moves:
   • No-Regrets Move: valuable no matter which scenario
     arrives. One sentence of rationale.
   • Strategic Pivot: a specific action with a 12-month
     fuse that only makes sense if Scenario B is emerging.
     One sentence of rationale.
The pivot should be something most organizations would
currently dismiss.
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How to use: Each lens is a three-part kit. Copy the Audio prompt into NotebookLM’s Customize box. Copy the Infographic prompt into your image generator (each includes the House Style Preamble — swap it using the style picker). Copy the Slide Deck prompt into any LLM alongside your research sources. All nine prompts are self-contained and ready to paste.

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