Choose one of three approaches. The steps for that option appear below.
Choose an option above. On a phone, swipe the tabs left or right to see all options →
Claude reads the whole pack and drafts the ledger and dossier. You check the ledger; the librarian signs off.
Assemble sources, record scope
Draft evidence ledger
Check ledger rows
Draft the dossier
Check and sign off
Use: You
Have ready: the research question, supplied sources and permitted-use notes; record scope, permission limits and source IDs.
Check every file opens and is lawfully accessible or owner-authorised.
Use: Claude
Load the whole source set into Claude and ask for the evidence ledger in one pass.
What to paste into the tool
Using every supplied source, build a ledger. Evidence ledger rows with source_id, source_date when known, passage_or_cell_location, extracted_value_or_quote, evidence_status, permission_note and unresolved_question; original units and time zones kept. Use only the supplied material. Quote exactly and give the source ID and location for every line. Separate what a source says, what is inference and what is not known yet. Do not send, publish, buy, book, change any account or run code.
Use: You
Check every ledger row against the originals and mark rows that fail.
Compare each passage, date, identifier and number with the original; keep unresolved items as open; do not resolve them silently.
Use: Claude
In the same chat, ask Claude to index evidence by question, keeping source locations and conflicting material.
What to paste into the tool
From the checked ledger only, draft the dossier organized by subquestion. Give every excerpt a source location and a usage note. Keep conflicting material. Leave a subquestion empty when the sources do not support it. Use only the supplied material. Quote exactly and give the source ID and location for every line. Separate what a source says, what is inference and what is not known yet. Do not send, publish, buy, book, change any account or run code.
Use: Research librarian
Check each line against the cited source; every excerpt needs a source location and usage note; unsupported subquestions stay empty; sign off or return.
You build the ledger by hand. Gemini Notebook drafts the dossier from it; the librarian traces each line.
Fill ledger by hand
Second reader checks
Draft the dossier
Trace lines, sign off
Use: You
Have ready: the research question, supplied sources and permitted-use notes. Fill the ledger by hand in a spreadsheet; no AI tool sees raw sources.
Compare each passage, date, identifier and number with the original; keep unresolved items as open; do not resolve them silently.
Use: Second reader
Check each quote, date and number against the source; check scope and permissions; list anything unreadable. Return disputed rows.
Use: Gemini Notebook
Give only the checked ledger to Gemini Notebook; ask for the dossier organised by subquestion, citing ledger row IDs.
What to paste into the tool
You have only the ledger below, not the sources. Draft the dossier organized by subquestion citing ledger row IDs. Give every excerpt a source location and a usage note. Keep conflicting material. Leave a subquestion empty when the sources do not support it. For anything the ledger does not support, write a question and do not fill it in. Use only the supplied material. Quote exactly and give the source ID and location for every line. Separate what a source says, what is inference and what is not known yet. Do not send, publish, buy, book, change any account or run code.
Use: Research librarian
Trace each line through its ledger row to the original; sign off or return. Keep unresolved items as open; do not resolve them silently.
ChatGPT reads each source separately. You write the dossier; ChatGPT lists gaps; the librarian signs off.
Register source documents
Draft source cards
Combine into ledger
Write dossier by hand
List gaps
Sign off or return
Use: You
Have ready: the research question, supplied sources and permitted-use notes. Register each source document with its source ID; keep the complete file.
Check every registered source opens completely, no lost pages or tables, and permission limits are recorded for each source ID. Free FAQ caps uploads at 3 files per day; larger packs need a paid plan or several days; paid-plan caps were not read.
Use: ChatGPT
For each source document, open a fresh ChatGPT chat with only that file and ask for a source card.
What to paste into the tool
This request uses one source document. List exact passages relevant to the research question with source ID and location, and mark each as stated, not known yet or ambiguous. Use only the supplied material. Quote exactly and give the source ID and location for every line. Separate what a source says, what is inference and what is not known yet. Do not send, publish, buy, book, change any account or run code.
Use: You
Combine the source cards into the ledger by hand, keeping source IDs and noting conflicts between sources.
Compare each passage, date, identifier and number with the original; keep unresolved items as open; do not resolve them silently.
Use: Research librarian
Write the dossier by hand: index evidence by question, keep source locations and conflicts. Keep unresolved items as open; do not resolve them silently.
Use: ChatGPT
Ask ChatGPT to list draft lines with no ledger support and requirements it does not cover.
What to paste into the tool
Review the draft against the ledger. List every line without a ledger row, every missing item, and anything stated more strongly than the ledger allows. Do not rewrite the draft. Give every excerpt a source location and a usage note. Keep conflicting material. Leave a subquestion empty when the sources do not support it. Use only the supplied material. Quote exactly and give the source ID and location for every line. Separate what a source says, what is inference and what is not known yet. Do not send, publish, buy, book, change any account or run code.
Use: Research librarian
Act on the challenge list; sign off or return the dossier, keeping empty subquestions and gaps visible.
Best when: One assistant drafts the ledger and dossier from the same source set
What it does: Claude drafts the ledger and dossier; you and the librarian check
Strong at: Single trail from source to draft in one workspace
Limit: Nothing is written to a canonical archive; no access permissions change
Free plan: Yes, limited (5-hour session and weekly caps)
Best when: Raw documents stay with people; the assistant sees only the checked ledger
What it does: You build the ledger by hand; Gemini Notebook drafts from it
Strong at: Every draft claim traces back to a checked ledger row
Limit: Nothing is written to a canonical archive; no access permissions change
Free plan: Yes, limited (100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook)
Best when: Separate reading of each source and a hand-written dossier matter
What it does: ChatGPT drafts cards and lists gaps; you write the dossier
Strong at: Each card draws on one source, checked by you
Limit: Nothing is written to a canonical archive; no access permissions change
Free plan: Yes, limited (images, voice, deep research, Codex)
Before you paste into any AI tool, remove any confidential information. Put it back at the end.
Deciding between ChatGPT and Claude for this? See the comparison.
Use only material you may lawfully use or have the owner's permission to use. Treat the output as a research suggestion for your own review.
Do not let the tool send, publish, buy, book, change an account, start monitoring or run live code on its own. You keep every decision and any later approval.
Produce a bounded research artefact only: nothing is written to the main archive, no access permissions change and no live data system is maintained.
Keep the source IDs and where each passage or cell came from. Give every excerpt a source location and a usage note, leave unsupported subquestions empty, and check citations and access restrictions before the brief is complete.
Check the result against your original inputs. Approve it before sharing or acting.