# The research loop

Gather evidence, draft a section, review it, and compile. Keep the next pass connected to what you learned.

A manuscript grows through repeated passes. Oleafly keeps the source material, the editable draft, and the compiled page close enough to move between them without rebuilding the context each time.

## Try a complete pass

Use the [LaTeX practice document](/docs/writing/latex/#make-your-first-page), [Typst report](/docs/writing/typst/#compile-a-small-report), or [Markdown field notes](/docs/writing/markdown/#make-a-report). Each guide includes a complete starting document.

Create a file named `research-notes.md` in the project and paste:

```markdown title="research-notes.md"
# Measurement procedure

This is a practice document with synthetic observations.

Question: Does repeating the procedure change its duration?
Baseline times (seconds): 12, 13, 11.
Revised times (seconds): 10, 11, 9.

Keep separate:
- What the numbers show.
- What needs a larger study.
- What needs a published source.
```

## Gather evidence

Open **References & citations** and search for a source relevant to your real research question. Read the source and save its bibliography record. Add a short note explaining which statement it supports.

For this practice dataset, the observations are synthetic. Describe them as an example rather than evidence of a real-world result.

## Draft a section

Write a Results section with the two means: **12 seconds** for the baseline and **10 seconds** for the revised procedure. Explain that three observations per procedure are enough to demonstrate the workflow, not to establish a general finding.

If you have an assistant connected, select the paragraph and use **Ask AI** with:

> Make this paragraph easier to read. Preserve the values, label the data as synthetic, and avoid adding a causal claim.

Review the proposed edit and accept or reject it. The original source remains the basis for the next pass.

## Review the claims

Ask the assistant to inspect the paragraph against `research-notes.md`:

> Compare the Results section with research-notes.md. Check the two means and flag any claim that goes beyond these observations. Show each proposed change before applying it.

Read the arithmetic and the proposed changes yourself. For a longer manuscript, run an [evidence audit in Research tasks](/docs/research-tasks/) on a separate copy, then inspect the resulting diff.

## Compile and inspect

Choose **Recompile**. Read the finished paragraph in the PDF, check its table or equation, and run **Preflight Checks**. If the wording or layout needs another pass, return to the relevant source.

Use [saved checkpoints](/docs/checkpoints/) to return to a previous successful build and [Git](/docs/git-history/) to name a milestone. Export the PDF when the result is ready to share.

## Repeat with your own work

Replace the practice notes with your data provenance, methods, and source records. Add [linked folders](/docs/linked-folders/) for material already stored elsewhere, and use [skills](/docs/skills/) for recurring literature, analysis, and review procedures.