# Compare your sources. Make a clearer decision.

Reviewed: 2026-09-09

Canonical: https://clankercloud.ai/learn/research-with-project-files

Use a Workspace Project to keep the source files, decision criteria, and research Sessions together. Ask for a comparison with a source for each material claim, then check the evidence before using the recommendation.

## What you are working toward

A comparison table and a decision brief with source references.

## Start with

- The proposals or research files you want compared

- The decision, audience, and criteria that matter

- A Project for the source files and finished brief

## Start with the decision

Name the decision before asking for a summary. “Choose a vendor for a six-week rollout” gives the Agent a more useful frame than “read these PDFs.” Add the audience and the questions the decision maker must resolve.

Create a Project, upload the relevant files, and put persistent requirements in Project instructions. A separate Session for each comparison keeps the conversation focused while the Project retains shared context.

## Make the evidence inspectable

Request columns for the criterion, each option’s stated position, the source location, and any unanswered question. If a proposal does not mention support hours, the table should say “not stated.” A plausible answer is not a substitute for a source.

If you add web research, ask for links and a distinction between current vendor documentation and claims from the supplied files. Check the linked page yourself when the decision depends on a changeable fact.

## Challenge the recommendation

Open the resulting file in Preview. Check the most consequential rows against the originals. Ask which assumptions would change the recommendation, and whether all options were evaluated using the same criteria.

Save the final brief in the Project and retain the inputs. A future Session can update the comparison when a new proposal arrives. Bookmarks help you return to useful replies; Archive → Wiki is useful for findings that should become lasting knowledge.

## Try this prompt

Copy into a Workspace Session. Opening Workspace does not send it automatically.

```text
Compare the proposals in this Project for our operations lead. Use scope, delivery timing, support, and missing information as criteria. Cite the file and section behind each material claim. Separate facts from assumptions, mark anything not stated, and save a decision brief plus a comparison table. Do not contact the vendors.
```

## Common questions

### What can I bring into a Project?

Upload documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and presentations, or attach files and paste images in a Session. Add Project instructions to explain the audience, preferred format, and facts the Agent should use.

[Read more in the FAQ](https://clankercloud.ai/faq#source-files)

### How do I reuse research and useful answers?

Keep quick references in Bookmarks. Save lasting knowledge in Archive → Wiki, open articles to follow their source links, and keep related files and instructions in a Project. Check cited sources before relying on a research result.

[Read more in the FAQ](https://clankercloud.ai/faq#knowledge)

## Sources

- [Workspace guide: your first useful Session](https://workspace.clankercloud.ai/#page=faq&tab=articles&article=first-useful-session)

- [Workspace guide: files and knowledge](https://workspace.clankercloud.ai/#page=faq&tab=articles&article=files-and-knowledge)

## Related

- [A vendor decision with the evidence attached.](https://clankercloud.ai/templates/vendor-comparison)

- [Your rough notes. A report worth sending.](https://clankercloud.ai/learn/turn-notes-into-a-report)

- [Clanker Workspace or ChatGPT Projects?](https://clankercloud.ai/compare/clanker-workspace-vs-chatgpt-projects)

[Open Workspace](https://workspace.clankercloud.ai)

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