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Deep Research is a guided workflow for systematic literature research in Purna. It turns a focused research question into a structured review with traceable sources, organized evidence, identified research gaps, and a fully cited paper. Use Deep Research when your question requires a broad literature search and careful evidence review rather than a quick answer.

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How Deep Research works

1

Ask a research question

Describe the topic, population, intervention, mechanism, or outcome you want to investigate.
2

Review the research plan

Purna interprets your question and proposes a directed research plan with literature filters and inclusion criteria.
3

Approve the scope

Adjust the plan if needed, then approve it before literature retrieval begins.
4

Follow the research

Watch source discovery, screening, evidence extraction, and gap analysis as they happen.
5

Inspect the evidence

Review included and excluded sources, selection reasoning, evidence strength, and unresolved gaps.
6

Receive the paper

After the research is complete, Purna hands the results to the paper-writing agent to create a fully cited, PRISMA-style paper.

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1. Ask a research question

Start a new session and turn on Deep Research. Then enter the question you want Purna to investigate. Include enough context to keep the review focused. Depending on the topic, this may include the population, disease area, intervention, study design, date range, or desired outcome. For example:

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2. Review the research plan

Purna creates a directed research plan before beginning the review. The plan shows how Purna interpreted your question and the areas it intends to investigate.
Deep Research approval card showing the generated research plan

Review the generated research path before the literature search begins.

You can control the review using filters such as: Review the proposed plan and filters carefully. Click Edit to refine the scope, Cancel to stop, or Start to approve the plan and begin the research.
Deep Research controls for paper count, publication years, study types, and grey literature

Review and approve the research scope before Purna begins retrieving literature.

Deep Research does not begin literature retrieval until you approve the plan. This gives you control over the scope before the full review starts.

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3. Follow the research in real time

After approval, Deep Research runs in the background. Open its details from the session or the Compute panel to follow the process while continuing other work in Purna. The Deep Research workspace provides six views:
Deep Research Timeline showing live literature search and screening events

Follow searching, screening, retrieval, and exclusion events as they happen.

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4. Review sources, evidence, and gaps

The Sources view shows the literature collected during the review. You can open available papers and see whether each source was included, excluded, awaiting review, or requires full-text access. When a source is excluded, Purna records the reason when available.
Deep Research Sources view showing included and excluded literature with decision reasons

Inspect every retrieved source, its decision, supporting basis, and available paper links.

The Evidence view organizes extracted evidence by strength. Use it to inspect the claim, supporting source, relevant excerpt, and provenance before relying on a conclusion.
Deep Research Evidence view showing evidence strength, claims, and provenance

Compare evidence strength and trace extracted claims back to their supporting sources.

The Gaps view highlights missing evidence, conflicting findings, limited study coverage, and questions that may need a more focused search.
Review weak and conflicting evidence alongside strong evidence. A transparent gap is often more useful than an unsupported conclusion.

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5. Receive the PRISMA-style paper

When the research process is complete, Purna automatically hands the approved plan, selected sources, extracted evidence, and identified gaps to the paper-writing agent.
Completed Deep Research plan with the Writing Paper handoff in progress

Completed research is handed to the paper-writing workflow automatically.

The resulting paper is organized as a structured literature review and includes citations connected to the collected sources. Review the paper, verify important claims, and refine the draft before using it for publication or decision-making.
Deep Research produces a PRISMA-style research output. Final PRISMA compliance depends on the review protocol, reporting requirements, available literature, and your verification of the completed paper.

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Watch the Deep Research demo

See the complete workflow from research question and plan approval to evidence review and paper generation.

Deep Research in Purna: complete product walkthrough