A name with possibilities.

Keep each claim close to what supports it.

The Claim and Source Ladder is an original reference method for reviewing a short research summary. It has three levels: source note, interpretation and next question. The worked example uses four invented interview records about organising shared folders. It is not a real study or evidence of customer demand.

Record the source level

Create fields for record ID, prompt, exact note, source type and permitted use. In the fictional set, P1 says finding the latest file is difficult; P2 says the same; P3 says permission requests cause delays; P4 says the current folder arrangement works for their task. All four respond to the same prompt about recent difficulties. Record P4 as a differing account rather than omitting it because it does not support the emerging story. Keep the original prompt beside all four notes so the comparison remains intelligible.

Write the narrow interpretation

The defensible summary of this invented set is that two of four records mention finding the latest file, one mentions permission delays and one reports no difficulty with the arrangement. A proposed interpretation is that version visibility deserves further investigation. It is not evidence that half of all customers have the problem, nor that they would purchase a new product. Keep the counts attached to this four-record exercise and label the interpretation separately from the notes.

Choose a question that could change the view

The next-question field might ask when the latest-file problem occurs and what participants currently do about it. A follow-up could reveal that both comments concern the same unusual handoff, changing the interpretation. Preserve the earlier claim with a revision note instead of rewriting the source records. A finished summary should show four notes, one provisional interpretation and a specific unresolved question. That structure gives an editor something concrete to challenge without inventing confidence scores or a market-wide conclusion.

The claim and source ladder — Illustrative reference for MarketSpeaks. The example is fictional. Scroll the diagram horizontally on smaller screens.