01
Set the role
Tell the model who it should be. This immediately shifts tone, assumptions and usefulness. A researcher, lawyer, strategist, consultant or market analyst will each frame the work differently.
Research Prompt Workshop
Build research prompts that actually work.
This mini-site is designed as a core part of Mastering AI Tools. It teaches learners how to write strong, structured research prompts for business, legal, marketing, strategy and executive work — without using any API calls at all.
6
Research modes
12+
Prompt components
1
Clear framework
The Core Framework
What makes a great research prompt?
The strongest prompts do not just ask for information. They define the role, the problem, the audience, the deliverable and the quality bar. This site uses a simple structure learners can remember and apply immediately.
02
Explain the situation
Describe what you are actually working on. Include audience, stakes, location, goals and any relevant constraints. The more grounded the situation, the better the output.
03
Ask for a useful output
Request something practical: angles, categories, risks, a table, a summary, a teaching structure or a decision-ready output. Avoid vague requests like “tell me about this.”
Interactive Workshop
Build your research prompt
Choose a scenario, adjust the tone, set the audience and generate a stronger research prompt instantly. This builder is fully front-end only and uses prewritten logic with JavaScript.
Generated Research Prompt
This is the kind of prompt a learner can copy straight into an LLM after building the right scaffolding.
Why this prompt works
Each section has a job. This helps learners see prompt engineering as structured thinking rather than magic.
Quality Checklist
Before using a research prompt, test whether it is likely to produce something genuinely useful.
What this teaches
The goal is not just to get one answer. The goal is to get a better thinking partner by shaping the task well.
ActSet the perspective and level of expertise.
ExplainGive the real-world situation, audience and stakes.
PleaseAsk for a concrete, structured output that is easy to use.
Sample Prompts
Research prompt examples for real work
These examples are designed to feel useful for the course. Each one uses the same underlying logic, but the framing changes to suit the job.
Board and executive strategy
Useful when you need high-level research that can become a presentation, briefing note or workshop section.
Act as a strategic business researcher with a strong understanding of executive communication and board expectations.
I’m preparing a presentation for senior leaders on how AI is likely to change competitive advantage over the next 24 months in Australian professional services firms.
Please give me six research angles, the most useful questions to investigate, likely commercial risks, examples worth including, and a clean structure for a 15-slide presentation.
Executive use
Legal and regulatory analysis
Useful when you need a safer research starting point before refining and checking the details carefully.
Act as a researcher with a strong understanding of New South Wales legal and regulatory frameworks.
I’m working on a report that needs to explain a recent compliance issue clearly to a non-technical business audience.
Please outline the major research areas I should investigate, possible implications, common misunderstandings to avoid, and a sensible structure for a practical summary.
Careful framing
Marketing and positioning
Useful for campaigns, landing pages, audience research and message development.
Act as a senior marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience in brand positioning and market research.
I’m working on a campaign for a premium offer and need to understand customer motivations, objections and message angles.
Please give me five research directions, audience questions worth exploring, emotional drivers to look for, competitor themes to examine and a format I can turn into creative briefs.
Marketing research
Teaching Guidance
How to make learners better at research prompting
The best learners understand that prompting is not about clever wording. It is about setting the job properly, then iterating with taste and judgment.
What to encourage
- Ask learners to define who the model should be before they ask the question.
- Make them explain the real work context, not just the abstract topic.
- Have them ask for categories, options, structures and angles before the final output.
- Encourage prompts that request practical outputs such as tables, frameworks, outlines and risk lists.
- Show them that the first answer is often the start of the process, not the final answer.
What to avoid
- Vague prompts like “tell me about this” or “help me with AI.”
- Skipping the audience and intended use of the research.
- Jumping straight to polished output without gathering ideas first.
- Forgetting to specify location, industry, timeframe or constraints.
- Trusting the output without reviewing accuracy, bias and relevance.
Prompt Blueprint
A simple sequence learners can follow every time
This gives the course a repeatable method. Learners can use it for research, planning, slide-building, proposals and strategy work.
1
Name the expert
Choose the most useful person to sit next to you: strategist, researcher, lawyer, consultant, marketer or analyst.
2
Explain the real task
Describe the actual project, who it is for, why it matters and what the pressure points are.
3
Ask for scaffolding first
Request angles, questions, risks, patterns or a structure before asking for the final finished deliverable.
4
Refine and tighten
Use the first result as context, then ask for sharper, more specific and more audience-aware outputs.
Course Checklist
Use this inside the lesson
These blocks can be used directly in the course delivery. They help make the site feel like a true lesson asset rather than a separate gimmick.
Live facilitation ideas
- Ask learners to pick one real project they are already working on.
- Have them write a weak prompt first, then compare it to a stronger version.
- Use the builder live on screen to show how a small framing shift improves the result.
- Make them swap prompts with a partner and improve each other’s structure.
Takeaway outcomes
- Learners leave with a reusable research prompt framework.
- They understand how to generate better angles instead of generic filler.
- They gain confidence translating messy ideas into structured requests.
- They see prompting as a professional skill, not a novelty trick.
FAQ
Questions learners usually ask
These are useful to include beneath the workshop during the course, especially for people who are new to prompting.
Why not just ask the question directly?
Because the model will often give a shallow answer. Strong scaffolding creates stronger research directions, better structure and far more relevant output.
How much detail is too much?
Usually less than people think. If the context changes the meaning of the task, include it. If it adds clutter and does not affect the job, remove it.
Should I ask for the final deliverable?
Often not at first. Ask for angles, questions, risks or a structure. Then refine. This usually produces better work than jumping straight to a polished final version.
Next Step