Back to: Gemini & NotebookLM Research Lab
Turn a broad topic into a bounded research question with a decision, audience, timeframe, and evidence test.
Reviewed September 2026. Google account type, region, language, and Workspace plan can affect feature availability. Check the linked first-party Help pages in your own account.
The situation
“Research remote work” is a topic, not a research question. It offers no boundary for source selection and no way to know when the work is complete. A notebook will still produce fluent responses, but you will be collecting sentences rather than evidence.
Begin with the decision the reader faces. For this lesson, imagine a small nonprofit deciding whether two weekly team meetings should remain online or move to a shared office.
Do the work
- Name the decision and decision owner. Write what changes after the research—policy, purchase, plan, or communication.
- Add a population, place, and timeframe. “For a 12-person UK nonprofit in 2026” is more useful than “for companies.”
- Define three dimensions that matter: cost, participation, and team coordination, for example. Include one deliberate counter-question that could challenge your starting preference.
- Write an evidence threshold. Decide which claims require an official source, original research, internal data, or a direct stakeholder interview.
- Create an out-of-scope line. Exclude questions the notebook cannot responsibly answer from the selected source pack.
Copyable workbench
RESEARCH BRIEF Decision: Decision owner: Audience: Population/place: As-of date: Dimensions: 1. 2. 3. Counter-question: Evidence threshold: Out of scope: Done when:
Quality check
- The brief names a decision, not merely a topic.
- Population and timeframe are explicit.
- At least one question challenges the preferred answer.
- Evidence standards vary with claim importance.
- Out-of-scope questions are written down.
Keep current
These first-party pages are the reference for current source support, grounding, and product behavior. Independently verify high-impact claims outside any generated response.