Research Brief Log Template

Module 4, Lesson 4.5 · capstone artifact → /capstone/research-brief-log-v1.md · concept

What this is. The compiled, freeze-ready outer shell of the Module 4 capstone artifact. Three entries (scoping brief, fact-check memo, synthesis brief) — all anchored to a single topic the student has threaded through the module — get concatenated into this log at freeze time.

How to use. Keep a draft copy (research-brief-log-draft.md) during the module. Use this template as the outer shell when you are ready to freeze. The v1 freeze captures the Module 4 state and does not change.

Header — copy verbatim

Research brief log — v1.

Student: ______________

Topic threaded through Module 4: ______________

Frozen on: 2026-[MM-DD].

Module 4 capstone artifact. Future edits go into -v2.md, not here.

Safety norms — copy verbatim

Rule 1 — You do not cite what you have not opened.

Every source in this log is status opened-and-confirmed in source-list.md.

Rule 2 — The status field is the student's attestation.

No agent moves a source from not-yet-opened to opened-and-confirmed.

Topic thread — one paragraph

One paragraph, written by the student. What is the topic the three entries are about? Why did you pick it? What decision or audience is downstream of this work?

Entry 1 — Scoping brief (Lesson 4.2)

Entry 1 · Scoping brief

Paste the contents of capstone-entry-1-scoping-brief.md below. Five parts: question, reader-and-decision, answer-shape, out-of-scope, constraints. See scoping-brief-template.md for the fill-in version.

[ paste scoping brief content here ]

Entry 2 — Fact-check memo (Lesson 4.3)

Entry 2 · Fact-check memo

Paste the contents of capstone-entry-2-fact-check-memo.md below. Six parts: claim, evidence-standard, sources-opened, triangulation, verdict, unresolved. See fact-check-memo-template.md for the fill-in version.

[ paste fact-check memo content here ]

Entry 3 — Synthesis brief (Lesson 4.4)

Entry 3 · Synthesis brief

Paste the contents of capstone-entry-3-synthesis-brief.md below. This is the drafted prose brief, not the synthesis plan. The plan lives in synthesis-plan.md; the brief is what you hand to the reader.

[ paste synthesis brief content here ]

Source list — compiled

Source list

Paste the contents of source-list.md below, with every entry showing final status. Dropped entries stay in the list with their one-line reason.

[ paste source-list.md content here ]

Audit attestation

Audit attestation

By freezing this log as v1, the student attests that:

Every cited source is status opened-and-confirmed in source-list.md.
The four-pattern fabrication sweep (Lesson 4.3) was run on every citation.
Every load-bearing claim is tagged to at least one source; claims on a single source are flagged as such.
The brief's claims match the sources' claims (no stronger, no less hedged, no generalized beyond the source's scope).
The uncertainty ledger from the synthesis plan is visible in Entry 3 itself — not hidden.
The student, not an agent, ran the five-step final audit (open-before-cite-final-audit.md).
Student signature (initials and date — this is the attestation)

Short reflection — one paragraph

One paragraph. What surprised you about working with research agents? Which of the three entries was hardest, and why? What habit — from Module 4 — do you want to carry into the rest of the course?

Closeout

All three entries present and complete.
The source list at the end matches the citations in the three entries.
The five-step final audit has been completed.
The audit attestation checklist above is all checked.
Copied this file to /capstone/research-brief-log-v1.md with the freeze header.
Committed the freeze.
Kept research-brief-log-draft.md as a working copy.
git add capstone/research-brief-log-v1.md git commit -m "Module 4 capstone freeze — research-brief-log-v1"

A note on honesty

Do not polish this log in ways that misrepresent what happened. The reflections are most valuable when they include the moments you caught yourself trusting the agent too quickly, skimmed a source, or dropped a citation that would have made the brief more nuanced.

Two specific failures to avoid at freeze time:

1. Retroactive re-sourcing. Do not go hunt down sources at the end to back-fill claims that were originally written without them. If a claim has no source, rework or drop the claim.

2. Verdict hedging. In Entry 2, do not soften “false” to “mixed” because disagreeing feels rude. The verdict must match the evidence.

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