Get to a research paper's key findings and the evidence behind each
The key findings are what a paper adds to knowledge, but they appear in several versions: a one-line claim in the abstract, the full result with its numbers in the results section, and a more cautious reading in the discussion. Ask Search+ "What are the main findings, and where are they reported?" and the answer cites the passages where each finding appears, so you can see the result with its effect size and uncertainty rather than only the headline.
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Last updated October 2026
How to pin down a paper's findings with Search+
- Upload the article
Add the paper to a workspace. If the main result sits in a table, check the cited excerpt against the table, because a summary of a dense row can slip.
- Ask for the main and secondary findings separately
Ask for the primary result first, then for secondary or exploratory results. Papers often report many findings, and mixing them blurs which one the study was designed to test.
- Compare the abstract with the results
Ask whether the abstract's conclusion matches what the results section reports. Open both citations and read them side by side.
Questions to ask about key findings
What is the paper's primary finding, and in which section is it first reported?
How large is the main effect, and what confidence interval or other measure of uncertainty is given?
Which outcomes showed no clear difference or association?
Do the authors report the finding holding for some groups but not others?
Does the abstract describe the result more strongly than the results section does?
Which papers in this workspace report the same finding, and do they agree on its size?
What to look for in a paper's findings
A study is usually designed around one main question. Findings on other outcomes may be informative, but they carry less weight, especially when many were tested.
A statistically significant result can be too small to matter in practice, and a non-significant result does not show that there is no effect. Look for the effect size and its uncertainty, not only a p-value.
The discussion and abstract can describe a result more confidently than the numbers in the results section justify. Read the results section's own sentence.
Observational studies report associations. Check whether the authors claim cause and effect and whether their design supports that claim.
Search+ answers with inline citations to the supporting excerpt, with a page or section reference when the paper has one, so a finding can be traced to the sentence that reports it.
Finding wording you may see, and what to ask next
| Wording you may see | What it usually signals | A follow-up question |
|---|---|---|
| "significantly associated with" | A statistical association, not necessarily causal | What design produced this, and what was adjusted for? |
| "no significant difference" | The study did not detect a difference | How wide is the confidence interval around that result? |
| "trend toward" | A result that did not reach the authors' threshold | How do the authors interpret it, and is it a primary outcome? |
| "in a post hoc analysis" | An analysis not planned in advance | Was this finding part of the original question? |
| "these findings suggest" | The authors' interpretation | Which result is this interpretation based on? |
| "odds ratio" or "hazard ratio" | A relative measure of effect | What is the comparison group, and what are the absolute numbers? |
What are the key findings of a research paper?
The key findings are the main results a study reports in answer to its research question, usually stated briefly in the abstract, in full with numbers and uncertainty in the results section, and interpreted in the discussion.
Key findings questions
Can Search+ tell me the main findings of a paper?
Will it check whether the abstract overstates the result?
Can it explain what a p-value or confidence interval means here?
Can I compare findings across several papers?
Should I cite the answer or the paper?
Is the summary of findings always right?
Read the result, not just the headline
Start a workspace, upload the paper, and ask what it found and how sure the authors can be.
Start a workspace