research-synthesisby Anthropic

Research Synthesis Skill.

A Claude Code and Codex skill for UX research: synthesizes interviews, surveys, and test notes into themes and recommendations.

UX & Research
Research document

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anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · design/skills/research-synthesis/SKILL.mdSKILL.md

--- name: research-synthesis description: Synthesize user research into themes, insights, and recommendations. Use when you have interview transcripts, survey results, usability test notes, support tickets, or NPS responses that need to be distilled into patterns, user segments, and prioritized next steps. --- ## Usage ## What I Accept ## Output ## Research Synthesis: [Study Name] ## If Connectors Available ## Tips

Front matter and section headings read from the upstream file on 2026-09-14 · 2,996 characters in full

01 What it does

What the research-synthesis Skill Does in Claude Code and Codex

Summary, workflow and outputs, all read from the skill's SKILL.md.

From the SKILL.mdRead 2026-09-14 · not a recorded run

In the Skill's Own Terms

Synthesizes raw user research into a structured markdown document: themes with prevalence counts and participant quotes, an insight-to-opportunity table scored by impact and effort, user segments, prioritized recommendations, open questions and methodology notes. It accepts interview transcripts, survey results (CSV or pasted), usability test notes or recordings, support tickets, NPS/CSAT responses and app store reviews, and is invoked as /research-synthesis with the data as arguments.

Optional connectors to user feedback, product analytics and a knowledge base let it pull support tickets, validate qualitative findings with usage data and publish the synthesis to a research repository. Research methods and interview guides live in the separate user-research skill.

What it produces

A markdown synthesis document titled Research Synthesis with the study name.
A Key Themes section where each theme states its implication for the product.
An insight-to-opportunity table with impact and effort columns.
A user segments table listing characteristics, needs and rough size.

See the example prompt ↗

How It Works

01
Pass the Research as the Argument
The command takes the research data, transcripts or survey results as its argument string, so the material you supply is what gets synthesized.
02
Fill in the Study Header
Every synthesis opens by stating the method, the participant count, the date range and the researcher, so the reader knows what the findings rest on.
03
Lead with a Short Executive Summary
Three to four sentences carrying the key findings, placed before any of the detail.
04
Group Findings into Named Themes
Each theme gets a name and a one-line summary of what it is about, then supporting quotes underneath.
05
Define the User Segments
A dedicated section names the segments the data reveals, separated from the theme list.
06
Close by Naming What Is Still Unknown
The document ends by listing the questions the study did not answer, which becomes the starting point for the next round of research.

02 Find your fit

When to Use the research-synthesis Skill

Use the research-synthesis skill in Claude Code or Codex when the job is UX research of this kind. Fit and limits below are taken from the skill's own file.

Good Fit

You already have research and need it distilled into patterns, user segments and prioritized next steps.
You have a pile of qualitative material sitting around and want it turned into actionable insights.
You want new findings checked against prior studies before you act on them.

Know the Boundaries

It does not cover research methods, interview guides or analysis frameworks — the file points those to the separate user-research skill.
Comparing against prior work and publishing to a repository only happen if a knowledge base connector is actually connected.

What to Provide

Interview transcripts or notesThe main qualitative source; supplied as text for the synthesis to read.
Survey resultsProvided as a CSV or pasted directly into the prompt.
Usability test recordings or notesEither the recordings or written notes from sessions are accepted.
Support tickets or feedbackExisting feedback threads can be fed in as research material.
NPS/CSAT responsesScore-based responses count as input data alongside the qualitative sources.

03 Inside the skill

Rules the research-synthesis Skill Gives Claude Code and Codex

8 concrete instructions, defaults and limits the SKILL.md sets for the agent — the part of the file that changes the result.

Quote Participants Directly
Raw participant quotes are what make insights credible and memorable, so the synthesis carries them rather than paraphrase alone.
Keep Observations and Interpretations Apart
Five of eight users clicking the wrong button is an observation; calling the button placement confusing is an interpretation, and the two must not be mixed.
Quantify Instead of Hedging
Replace vague quantifiers: "most users" is weak, "7 of 10 users" is specific.
State Prevalence for Every Theme
Each theme reports how many participants out of the total showed it, in the form X of Y participants.
Attribute Every Quote
Quotes are tied to participants with an identifier, as in a quote followed by P[X].
Score Opportunities by Impact and Effort
The insight-to-opportunity table carries High, Med or Low values in both an impact column and an effort column.
Tie Each Recommendation to Findings
Recommendations are split into high, medium and lower priority, each stating why and which findings it comes from.
Record Methodology and Limitations
The document closes with how the research was conducted plus any limitations or biases to note.

04 Put it to work

Install research-synthesis in Claude Code or Codex

One npx skills add command, then a first task in your agent and a checklist for the result.

Add research-synthesis to Claude Code, Codex or Your Agent

Run in your project; the installer asks which agent to add it to.

Terminal

npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill research-synthesis

Generic skills CLI form for design/skills/research-synthesis/SKILL.md; the repository may document its own path.

Give the Skill a First UX Research Task

Written in the skill's own terms; replace the bracketed parts with your material.

Starter prompt

Here are [8] interview transcripts from [study name] plus the [NPS export] pasted below. Pull out the key themes with prevalence counts and supporting quotes, identify the user segments, and rank the recommendations by impact and effort for [the next planning cycle].

Source: written from the SKILL.md in the skill's own terms.

Check the First Result

What the SKILL.md itself says a correct result looks like:

Each theme should carry supporting evidence quotes, not just a summary line.
Read the methodology notes for stated limitations and biases before acting on the findings.
Treat the open questions as the brief for the next study.
When product analytics is connected, check the qualitative findings against usage data and behavioral metrics.

In OpenDesign import research-synthesis from its SKILL.md link: Plugins → Add → Skill → Import from link, then pick it in the top bar.

Download OpenDesign Read the quickstart

05 Open source, traceable

Source, License and Verification

Where this page's facts come from, and when they were last checked.

Author: Anthropic
Repository: github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins Branch main
Skill file: design/skills/research-synthesis/SKILL.md Content checksum recorded at verification; commit 8f877b6
License: Apache-2.0 From LICENSE.
Repository stars: 24,012 GitHub snapshot taken 2026-09-14 for the whole anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repository, which contains 7 skills in this catalog. Not a rating or usage count for research-synthesis.
Verified by OpenDesign: 2026-09-14 Source file, path, license text and star count were checked. Not bundled in OpenDesign main (checked 2026-08-28); a live run has not been recorded on this page.

Inside the SKILL.md

/research-synthesisNames the command and points to the user-research skill for methods, guides and frameworks.
UsageShows the invocation form with the research data passed as arguments.
What I AcceptLists input types: transcripts, surveys, usability tests, tickets, NPS/CSAT, app store reviews.
OutputGives the full markdown template the synthesis should follow.
If Connectors AvailableConditional extras from user feedback, product analytics and knowledge base connectors.
TipsThree reminders on quotes, separating observation from interpretation, and quantifying.

The Skill's Own Description

“Synthesize user research into themes, insights, and recommendations. Use when you have interview transcripts, survey results, usability test notes, support tickets, or NPS responses that need to be distilled into patterns, user segments, and prioritized next steps.”

Front-matter description from SKILL.md. The full file is about 2,996 characters. Read the full file on GitHub.

06 Before you install

Questions About the research-synthesis Skill

Answers come from the SKILL.md as read on 2026-09-14, not from a recorded run.

How do I actually run it?

It is a slash command: /research-synthesis with the research data as the argument. The file describes no separate setup step beyond supplying that material.

What does the finished write-up look like?

A markdown synthesis document that starts with an executive summary of the key findings, then themes with supporting evidence, an opportunity table, user segments, prioritized recommendations and open questions.

Does it pull in data from other tools on its own?

Only when connectors are available. Connected user feedback adds support tickets, feature requests and NPS responses, product analytics validates the qualitative findings, and a knowledge base allows comparison with prior studies and publishing the synthesis.

Research Synthesis

Run research-synthesis on a Real UX Research Task.

Download OpenDesign, import research-synthesis from its SKILL.md link, paste the prompt above, and read the plan before the result.

Download OpenDesign Browse all skills