Multi-Session Research Projects

Some research projects span days or weeks. Claude doesn't carry context between sessions, so you need a handoff document — a running research artifact that captures what you've learned and what's left to do.

At the end of each session, ask Claude to produce a context handoff: a structured summary of findings so far, open questions, methodology decisions, and next steps. At the start of the next session, paste the handoff document and pick up where you left off.

## Research Context Handoff

**Project:** [Research topic / question]
**Sessions Completed:** 3 of ~5

**Findings So Far:**
- [Key finding 1 — confirmed]
- [Key finding 2 — needs verification]
- [Key finding 3 — contradictory evidence found]

**Methodology Decisions:**
- Excluded [X] because [reason]
- Using [framework] for comparison because [reason]

**Open Questions:**
1. [Question that needs investigation next]
2. [Data gap that needs filling]

**Next Session Goals:**
- [ ] Deep-dive on [specific topic]
- [ ] Resolve contradiction in finding #3
- [ ] Begin synthesis phase

The handoff document serves double duty: it's both a session resumption tool and a research audit trail. When your project is complete, the chain of handoff documents tells the story of how your conclusions evolved — which is often as valuable as the conclusions themselves.