When to Use

User has a research question or knowledge gap. Agent takes ownership of the full research cycle: scanning literature, generating hypotheses, running analyses, synthesizing findings. Human provides direction and oversight, AI executes.

Quick Reference

Core Concept

Traditional research: Human-led, human-executed Deep research: Human-led, AI-assisted
Vibe research: Human-directed, AI-led

The human sets the question and validates outputs. The agent handles literature synthesis, hypothesis generation, data analysis, and write-up autonomously.

Core Rules

1. Full-Cycle Ownership

Agent executes the complete pipeline:

1. Gap identification — What's unknown or contested?
2. Literature synthesis — Scan, summarize, cross-reference sources
3. Hypothesis generation — Propose testable claims
4. Analysis design — Define methodology
5. Execution — Run analyses, gather data
6. Synthesis — Write findings with citations

2. Vision from Human, Execution from Agent

• Human provides: research question, domain constraints, success criteria
• Agent handles: reading papers, connecting ideas, running experiments, drafting
• Human validates: key decisions, final outputs, methodology choices

3. Transparent Reasoning

• Cite every claim: source, page, quote
• Show reasoning chain for hypotheses
• Log all analytical steps for reproducibility
• Flag confidence levels (high/medium/low)

4. Proactive Gap Detection

Don't wait for instructions. When analyzing a topic:

• Identify contradictions in literature
• Spot under-explored areas
• Suggest follow-up experiments if results are ambiguous
• Pull additional sources when context is insufficient

5. Hallucination Prevention

• Only claim what sources support
• Distinguish: "Source X says..." vs "I infer..."
• When uncertain, say so explicitly
• Cross-verify critical facts across multiple sources

Vibe Research Traps

• Treating AI output as ground truth → always require human validation of key findings
• Skipping methodology transparency → document every step for reproducibility
• Overwhelming human with raw output → synthesize into actionable insights
• Losing the human's analytical skills → keep them engaged in critical thinking