Research Services

Research support begins with a decision that the buyer will make and a question narrow enough to answer with available evidence. A useful brief separates sourced facts, interpretation, uncertainty, and a recommended next test. The service is not a large report measured by page count or a confident narrative assembled from whatever search results appear first.

This guide applies the general Starter Library method to research services. Use G01 for opportunity selection, G03 for AI verification, G04 for demand evidence, G05 for setup, G06 and G07 for customer contact and selling, G08 for pricing, G09 for service recovery, G10 for cash discipline, G12 for workflows, and G13 for contracts and privacy. Those guides carry the shared method; the sections below cover the operating decisions that change when this specific service is delivered.

Opportunity and Customer

The buyer group is Small businesses and community organizations with a bounded decision question, approved source constraints, and a person who will act on the findings.

The recurring problem is Decision-makers collect scattered reports and opinions but lack a cited, reproducible brief that separates evidence from assumptions.

The paid result is A decision-ready research brief with a defined question, source log, findings, uncertainty, alternatives, and recommended next test. Progress must remain inspectable, and consequential changes require the buyer's named approver.

The operating boundary is You gather and explain evidence. You do not guarantee a market outcome, provide regulated advice, or hide uncertainty behind a confident narrative.

Demand evidence

Ask the decision owner what action could change, when the decision is due, and what evidence would cause a different choice. Strong evidence includes conflicting reports, a location or supplier comparison with real cost, or a proposed change that can be tested cheaply before commitment. Confirm that the buyer has access to the decision and will accept uncertainty. A request to research a market with no decision or stopping rule is not ready. The paid brief should answer one question and recommend a next test rather than imply that public sources prove future demand. Record who will interpret contrary evidence and when the decision or test will be reviewed.

Fit and Skills

The fit assessment is Fits a rigorous researcher who can define a question, evaluate sources, document method, and say what the evidence does not support.

The minimum skill set is Practice question framing, search strategy, source quality, triangulation, concise synthesis, uncertainty statements, and citation management.

Use G04 to test buyer demand for research services after building this guide's artifact; capability alone is not proof.

Capability artifact

Create a fictional research brief on whether a cooperative should test a second pickup location. Compare published demand indicators, transport access, competitor hours, and survey limitations. Include one outdated statistic, one contradictory source, an evidence table, an uncertainty summary, and a preorder test. Do not describe the test as proof that demand is already established.

Startup Budget

These research services USD ranges are planning inputs; confirm each cost with current local quotes and keep first-test loss affordable.

• Research and spreadsheet tools: 0 to 30 USD monthly.
• Public data and library access: prefer free sources.
• Citation manager: 0 to 15 USD monthly.
• Specialist database only when client-approved and necessary: project-specific.
• Learning material: 0 to 150 USD.
• Contingency for source access and review: 50 to 200 USD.

Skill Acquisition

Operating sequence

Write the decision, audience, scope, source restrictions, time window, and stopping rule. Build a source plan that includes primary and independent sources where possible. Record search dates and extracts in an evidence table, check source quality and conflicts, synthesize only what the evidence supports, and list unresolved uncertainty. Close with one low-cost next test and the conditions that would change the recommendation.

Acceptance test

Trace every material finding to a dated source and distinguish direct evidence from inference. Check whether a statistic covers the same geography, population, and time period as the decision. Identify source incentives, missing data, and contradictory evidence. The brief must state what it cannot prove, and regulated legal, financial, medical, or safety recommendations must stay with a qualified professional.

Setup

Agree the decision, scope, intended user, source rules, date cutoff, confidentiality, deliverable length, review process, and topics requiring qualified specialist input.

Launch controls

Confirm confidentiality, approved tools, permissible sources, and whether interview or survey data may be collected. Keep source files and client data in an approved workspace and record deletion expectations. If the buyer asks for legal, financial, employment, medical, or safety advice, narrow the brief to evidence gathering and identify the qualified decision owner.

Use G05 and G13 for jurisdiction-specific setup, privacy, and legal questions.

Concrete Offer

A seven-day research brief on one bounded question. Includes a scope note, source plan, concise brief, evidence table, uncertainty section, and a recommended next test.

First acceptance evidence

The handoff consists of a question and scope page, evidence table with dates, brief with citations, uncertainty section, and next test. The buyer should be able to reproduce the search trail and see which conclusions would change with new evidence. A list of sources without analysis is not a completed research product.

Use G07, G08, and G13 to write the scope, payment, approval, and stop condition.

Outreach

Offer a short scoping call around one real decision. Do not imply that a desk review replaces legal, financial, clinical, or scientific expertise.

Target small organizations preparing a location, service, supplier, or audience decision but without an internal research team.

Acquisition test

Approach ten small organizations facing a bounded operating decision such as a service expansion, supplier comparison, or schedule change. Ask what evidence would change the decision and offer a paid seven-day brief. Avoid taking on vague questions such as how to grow; narrow them until there is an answerable decision and a stopping rule. Record the decision date and the source constraints in the first conversation, because a brief that arrives after the choice cannot be accepted as decision support.

Use G06 for the lawful contact method and record each reply and next action.

Pricing and Unit Economics

An illustrative brief is 600 to 2,500 USD. A smaller source comparison may be 250 to 700 USD. Price by question clarity, source access, and analysis, not page count.

Count scoping, searching, source review, synthesis, citation, review, and presentation. Unlimited open-ended research destroys margin; define the decision and stop rule.

Illustrative floor calculation

For a seven-day brief, plan 3 units for scoping and source design, 10 for source review, 5 for synthesis, 3 for citation and review, and 2 for the decision presentation. At 50 USD per direct unit, planned labor is 1,150 USD before subscriptions and administration. A 1,200 USD brief is plausible for a bounded question with known sources; unlimited searching needs a new scope.

Use G08 and G10 to set a local floor; contribution is not owner pay.

Delivery Example

The example below is an illustrative composite, not a real customer record or income promise.

A cooperative considers opening a second pickup location. You compare published demand indicators, transport access, competitor hours, and member survey limits, then recommend a low-cost preorder test. The illustrative brief is 1,200 USD and does not claim that demand is proven.

Delivery trace

The pickup-location brief records the date and geography of each demand indicator, excludes one statistic that covers a different population, and shows why the member survey cannot establish market demand by itself. The recommendation is a short preorder test with a willingness-to-pay signal, not a claim that the second location will succeed.

Growth

Repeat within one sector and build source libraries. Add a paid decision workshop after the brief, not an unrequested larger report.

Scale boundary

Package research by decision type and evidence standard, not by page count. Add interviews or data collection only with a separate consent and privacy review. Keep a source-freshness process for recurring intelligence, and avoid turning one industry brief into a universal claim about another market.

Use G14 before expanding research services capacity, a customer segment, or a service line; protect delivery quality first.

Risks

• Treating weak public data as proof of demand.
• Using outdated statistics without a date.
• Missing conflicts of interest in sources.
• Giving specialist advice beyond competence.

The controls above are the early-warning route. Jurisdiction-specific professional review still applies.

Privacy and AI Verification

Minimize interview and customer data, cite only approved sources, and protect confidential client plans. AI may help search or summarize, but a human must verify citations, quotations, numbers, dates, and whether a source supports the claim.

Apply the authorization, minimization, verification, and deletion process in G03, G12, and G13.

30-Day Action Plan

• Days 1-4: choose one decision question and write two versions, one too broad and one bounded.
• Days 5-9: create a fictional brief with six sources, one conflict, and an uncertainty statement.
• Days 10-13: build scope, source, citation, and review templates.
• Days 14-20: contact twelve small organizations facing a concrete decision.
• Days 21-26: deliver a sample or paid brief and review whether the decision-maker can act.
• Days 27-30: evaluate source effort, revision, and contribution before scaling.

At day 30, continue, revise one variable, or stop.

Day-30 decision record

At day 30, record paid research services tests, costs, delivery time, rework, exceptions, one objection, and one approval delay.

Templates

Template 1

Research scope: Decision, user, questions in scope, excluded questions, source limits, date cutoff, specialist review, confidentiality, and stop condition.

Template 2

Evidence table: Claim, source, date, method, limitation, confidence, contradicting evidence, and relevance.

Template 3

Brief closeout: What is supported, what remains uncertain, what was not researched, the next low-cost test, and who owns the decision.

Adapt contract language through G13 and local professional review.

Related General Guides

• G01, Finding a Business Opportunity That Fits
• G03, AI Assistant Basics
• G04, Validating Demand
• G06, Finding Customers
• G07, Selling Services
• G09, Customer Service
• G13, Contracts and Privacy
• G14, Sustainable Growth

Read the linked general guides for shared definitions, customer acquisition, pricing method, service recovery, cash discipline, workflow design, and legal and privacy controls. This specialized guide intentionally stays focused on research services operations.

Key Takeaways

• The handoff consists of a question and scope page, evidence table with dates, brief with citations, uncertainty section, and next test.
• Trace every material finding to a dated source and distinguish direct evidence from inference.
• For a seven-day brief, plan 3 units for scoping and source design, 10 for source review, 5 for synthesis, 3 for citation and review, and 2 for the decision presentation.
• Approach ten small organizations facing a bounded operating decision such as a service expansion, supplier comparison, or schedule change.
• Package research by decision type and evidence standard, not by page count.
• Keep the service boundary, named approver, and stop condition in every offer.
• At day 30, decide from paid delivery evidence and actual contribution.