SourceFrameBrief Types
Six brief types. Four questions they answer.
A brief type is an output structure, not a form to fill in. You choose a mode; SourceFrame builds the structure that fits your wording and your sources — and each type behaves differently when the evidence is thin.
Understand
What do these sources actually tell me?
Source Brief
Answers your question about a subject, with the sources as the evidence for the answer.
Sections
- Answer
- What the evidence shows
- Trade-offs and considerations
- Caveats
Summary mode · a specific question
Source Summary Brief
Summarizes the source set itself — what this collection of reading collectively says.
Sections
- Overview
- Key themes
- Tensions
- Open questions
Summary mode · usually from captured tabs
Source Brief asks
“What do these sources tell me about my question?”
Versus
Source Summary Brief asks
“What do these sources collectively say?”
Research
What is still open, and what should I look at next?
Research Brief
A snapshot of a question that is still open. It keeps unresolved questions and thin evidence as state, names no winner, and ends in the next research move.
Sections
- Current read
- Research questions
- Key findings
- Landscape
- Worth deeper investigation
- Still unresolved
- Next research moves
Routed from Auto — not a mode you pick
Research Brief
Directional findingsOn-call setups for small product teams without a platform team
Research questions
Which rotation shape is most common at this size?
AnsweredDoes tooling choice affect burnout, or only reporting?
PartialHow do rotations work below four engineers?
Open
Compare
Two different comparisons — of sources, or of options.
Source Comparison Brief
Compares what the sources say — where they agree, and where they contradict each other.
Where sources agree
All four describe migration effort as the dominant switching cost source 1 source 2 source 3 source 4
Where sources differ
The vendor page puts migration at days; the forum thread reports weeks source 1 source 3
Comparison mode · wording about the sources
Comparison Brief
Compares options you already know against shared criteria — and deliberately stops before picking one.
Evidence coverage for each option on each criterion Criterion Linear Jira Shortcut Setup effort Supported Supported limited — Limited evidence Cost at scale Supported limited — Limited evidence missing — No source coverage Comparison mode · named options
Source Comparison Brief asks
“What do these sources agree and disagree about?”
Versus
Comparison Brief asks
“How do these options compare on the criteria that matter?”
Decide
What should we do — and how firmly does the evidence back it?
Recommendation Brief
The only type that makes the call — and states how firm it is. When the evidence isn’t there, it says so instead of committing.
Sections
- Overview
- Decision question
- Recommendation
- Why this recommendation
- Options compared
- Factors considered
Recommendation mode · or Turn into…
Recommendation status is part of the output
- Confident
The evidence supports a clear recommendation.
- Conditional
The call depends on a stated priority, assumption or incomplete evidence.
- Insufficient evidence
The current evidence doesn’t justify choosing an option.
In the brief itself, a confident call carries no qualifier; the others read PROVISIONAL or MAJOR GAP.
- Confident
How the type is chosen
You pick a mode. SourceFrame picks the structure.
In the web app you choose Auto, Summary, Comparison or Recommendation. Within a mode, your wording decides the structure — and Research is never picked: Auto routes to it.
Auto:
“What setups work for X?” — an open question
gives Research Brief
Auto:
“Best tools for X” — options still to be found
gives Research Brief
Auto:
“Compare A, B and C” — options named
gives Comparison Brief
Auto:
“Should we pick A or B?” — options named, a decision asked for
gives Recommendation Brief
Summary:
A specific question about a subject
gives Source Brief
Summary:
“Summarize these sources” — the reading itself
gives Source Summary Brief
Comparison:
Two or more options you name
gives Comparison Brief
Comparison:
Wording that points at the sources themselves
gives Source Comparison Brief
Recommendation:
A decision to make
gives Recommendation Brief
Research continues in rounds
A Research Brief runs another bounded round with Research this, as a new variant. Its next formal brief is a Comparison Brief — never a Recommendation directly.
Not every type is a stage
Source Brief, Source Summary Brief and Source Comparison Brief do complete jobs of their own. Any of them — or a Comparison Brief — can Turn into… a Recommendation Brief when you choose; nothing moves on by itself.