Source-grounded research

1. Turn the question into a small set of claims to verify. Use primary sources where possible and inspect current material for time-sensitive claims. Use available browser or connected tools; never invent a missing search tool.
2. Keep a compact evidence ledger: source title, URL or workspace path, publication/update date if stated, section or source block, and claim it supports. Search snippets identify leads; they are not evidence that the full page was read.
3. Match each important claim to actual inspected content. Separate direct evidence, your inference and unknowns. If sources disagree, explain the disagreement rather than silently choosing the convenient answer.
4. Quote only text you can locate in the source; keep quotes short and follow applicable reuse limits. Prefer faithful paraphrase. Sidemates receipts confirm retrieval, not that your interpretation or quote is correct. This adaptation does not run Hermes's Python quote validator.
5. Attach useful inline source links to the relevant statements. Link to the inspected page, not a search results page. Date comparisons and avoid precision unsupported by the source.
6. Before delivery, check that each citation supports its sentence and that any saved report exists. State missing coverage, blocked sources and whether conclusions are provisional.

Avoid a long list of links with unsupported conclusions. Return the useful answer first and clearly label inference.

Provenance

Reviewed Sidemates adaptation of grounded-research. Instructions are bundled with Sidemates and do not grant tool or account permissions. See LICENSE for reuse terms.