Research: projects, sources, and findings

Use Research at /sources to collect inputs in one place—interview notes, links, documents, and structured observations—then get discrete findings you can act on. Four tabs organize the workflow: Library (source list), Add evidence (capture + findings panel), Approved takeaways (approved synthesis for Workshop AI), and Needs review (candidates awaiting approve/reject). Findings on Add evidence are grouped by status (New, Reviewed, Converted, Dismissed) with source badges plus optional Audience truth and Data point badges. Save a finding straight to Needs review as a candidate (no AI, no credits) or run batch synthesize across multiple findings (AI credits, at least three findings). Legacy /insights list bookmarks redirect to /sources?view=takeaways (inbox statuses → ?view=inbox).

Two kinds of "project"

• Strategy project (strategist_projects) — on /projects; brand foundation hub: Discovery, Research, Deliverables, Portal, Activity; client engagement hub: Files, Outputs, Portal, Activity.
• Evidence folder (research_projects) — internal bucket for sources/findings; auto-linked when you add evidence to a strategy project.

Projects

Create and manage strategy projects on /projects. Your brand foundation project is the brand strategy HQ — Discovery, Research, client Deliverables, and Portal sharing (including draft packages before Brand Intelligence is published). Build workshops and Strategy Review in Strategy nav. Additional client engagement projects use Files, Outputs, and Portal. Strategy deliverables generate from project Deliverables/Outputs tabs — not from Create home.

You can still add evidence from /sources, or upload directly in a project's Files tab. Eklipsa creates or reuses a linked evidence folder automatically.

Adding sources

Choose a tab in the Add source panel. Every tab requires a project first; the primary button enables when that tab's required fields are filled (while a save request is sending, buttons stay disabled on every tab until it finishes—after that you can switch tabs normally even while findings extract in the background). Required-field issues show inline where possible (no toast-only errors). The form shows a live status line as the source saves and extracts.

• Paste text — free-form text, like workshop notes or a transcript paste. Title is required. Long text is trimmed to 50,000 characters on save.
• URL clip — enter a public page URL and click Fetch preview to load the page title, hostname, and a short content preview. Click Save URL clip to extract findings. If the site blocks automated fetching (paywalls, login-only pages), the form will reveal a manual paste fallback so you can still save the article text.
• File — upload a PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, or CSV (max 10 MB). The form shows the file name, type, and size before you submit; unsupported types and oversized files are rejected client-side without a network round-trip. Long documents are split into chunks (max 8) for extraction.
• Competitor — name, positioning, and at least one strength + one weakness are required. Optional Analyze button (uses credits) takes a competitor URL and auto-fills the form; you can edit before saving. Strengths/weaknesses textareas show X / 5 and warn if you go past 5 lines (only the first 5 are saved). The save call uses one Synthesize call (credits).
• Observation — quick capture for one specific market signal (max 500 characters). Optional Where did you see this?, Market segment, and Confidence auto-expand once you start typing.
• Stakeholder — name, role, and notes are required. The conversation date sits above the fold for traceability; sentiment stays in the optional details panel. Use > in your notes to mark direct quotes.
• Audience — segment + note required. Quick-fill chips (SMB founders, Enterprise buyers, Consumers) populate the segment field. Optional Source of insight auto-expands once you describe what you learned.

After you save a source, the app extracts findings in the background. Extraction aligns implications with your current Brand Intelligence view (same merged workshop + approved strategy fields Halo uses), rather than stale workshop snapshots alone. The status line moves through Saving source… → Extracting findings… → N findings extracted — View findings on the tab where you saved — switching to another source type tab clears that message so it does not appear globally. If extraction errors out, the form keeps a Retry extraction button visible; the source is not lost.

Drafts on the structured tabs (Paste text, URL clip, Observation, Stakeholder, Audience) auto-save to your browser after 3 seconds of idle typing and reload the next time you open the tab for the same project.

Reviewing findings

The findings panel groups every finding by status into four collapsible sections: New (expanded by default), Reviewed, Converted, and Dismissed. Each finding shows its finding text, a labeled strategic implication, an amber “HMW” pill for the suggested How might we question, and a source badge (e.g. Competitor · Acme, Document · pitch-deck.pdf, Market observation). An extra blue Audience truth badge marks findings that came from an audience note, and a gray Data point badge marks statistics pulled out of document uploads.

Per-finding actions

• Mark reviewed — moves the finding to the Reviewed group so the New list stays focused.
• Convert to takeaway — opens an inline panel on the card (no popup). The fields are pre-populated from the finding, and you can edit the text, summary, type, and strategy recommendation. Save as takeaway sends the finding to Research Needs review as a candidate—no AI call and no credits used.
• Edit — inline edit of the finding text and strategic implication, for when the AI draft needs a small fix.
• Dismiss — hides the finding with a 5-second Undo affordance in case you change your mind. Dismissed findings also show a Restore button in their group.

Bulk actions

Check the boxes on two or more findings (or use the per-group Select all) to reveal the bulk bar. From there you can Mark all reviewed, Dismiss selected, or Send to synthesis—the last option uses AI credits and requires at least three findings to run.

Keyboard shortcuts

While the findings panel is visible and you are not typing in a field, use J and K to move between findings, R to mark reviewed, C to open the convert panel, and D to dismiss.

Approved takeaways & Needs review

Switch to Needs review or Approved takeaways on Research to triage synthesized evidence. The workflow spine is Discovery → Research → Workshops → Messaging Architecture → Strategy Review → Published Brand Intelligence. Approving a takeaway validates the synthesis for Workshop AI — it does not publish to Brand Intelligence. Route formal strategic choices through Strategy Review, collect client feedback there when needed, then Publish to Brand Intelligence when ready.

Filter by type and status; candidates: Approve and Reject. Approved takeaways fuel Workshop AI helpers (Brand Core, Positioning, Persona). Approved rows may use Save as reference for optional Chat or Studio snippets. Legacy /insights list URLs redirect to the matching Research tab.