Agent-Skills.md

Agent Skills: Analyzing a Source

Conducts in-depth analysis of a specific source or topic, producing comprehensive summaries for research synthesis. Use when you need detailed analysis and documentation of individual sources as part of a larger research effort.

UncategorizedID: sawyer-middeleer/dot-claude/analyzing-source

Repository

sawyer-middeleer/dot-claude
Sawyer-MiddeleerLicense: MIT
24

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pnpm dlx add-skill https://github.com/Sawyer-Middeleer/dot-claude/tree/HEAD/plugins/deep-research/skills/analyzing-source

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plugins/deep-research/skills/analyzing-source/SKILL.md

Skill Metadata

Name
analyzing-source
Description
Conducts in-depth analysis of a specific source or topic, producing a comprehensive, information-dense summary for research synthesis. Use when detailed analysis and documentation of an individual source is needed as part of a larger research effort. Primarily used by the research-analyst agent inside the deep-research workflow.

Analyzing a Source

Analyze a single source in depth and create a comprehensive summary suitable for research synthesis.

Process

Step 1: Retrieve

  • Given a URL: fetch it directly with WebFetch; verify the content is accessible and relevant
  • Given a topic: WebSearch for the best source, prioritizing authoritative and detailed ones; fetch the most relevant result
  • Inaccessible or thin: try alternative sources; note access issues in the summary rather than fabricating around them

Step 2: Deep Analysis

Focus on:

  • Core concepts, definitions, frameworks the source presents
  • Main arguments, claims, findings — what is it asserting?
  • Evidence, data, examples — what supports the claims?
  • Methodology — how was the work conducted?
  • Limitations, caveats, counterarguments — where are the boundaries?
  • Connections to the research focus provided
  • Quality and credibility — how reliable is this source, and why?
  • Unique insights — what does this source offer that others won't?

Step 3: Write the Summary

Use the template at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/analyzing-source/templates/article-summary.md.

Be concise yet thorough — extremely information-dense, leveraging specific data:

  • Include direct quotes and concrete examples, not just paraphrase
  • Provide analytical judgment about significance, not just description
  • Connect explicitly to the research focus
  • Make the summary self-contained — readable without the original

Step 4: Save

  • Filename: a descriptive slug (kubernetes-scaling-patterns.md, pricing-research-meta-analysis.md)
  • Location: {working_directory}/summaries/{filename}.md
  • All template sections filled

Step 5: Report

  1. What source was analyzed
  2. Where the summary was saved
  3. 2–3 sentences on the most important insights

Guidelines

  • Thorough, not brief — this is deep research, not scanning; capture nuance
  • Specific evidence — quotes, data points, named examples
  • Critical — note limitations, assess quality, surface assumptions
  • Focused — comprehensive within the research focus, not encyclopedic beyond it
  • Always save the file — the coordinator depends on it existing