# Research a topic and write it up in Notion

> Research notes end up scattered and without sources.

This setup is for analysts, founders and writers who need short research briefs with real sources. Claude searches the web through Brave Search, reads the results, and writes a structured page in Notion with a link for every key claim. You end up with briefs in one Notion location that you and your team can check and reuse.

## Steps

1. **Add web search**: Create a Brave Search API key in the Brave Search API dashboard and add the Brave Search MCP server to Claude Desktop or Claude Code with that key. Restart the host and ask Claude a simple current question to confirm it returns web results. Check your Brave plan's query limits, since a single brief can run many searches.
   Tip: Store the API key in the server's env settings, not in a prompt.
2. **Connect Notion**: Add Notion's MCP server and sign in with your Notion account, or use the local server with an internal integration token. With the token approach, share only the parent page where briefs should live with the integration. Ask Claude to list the pages it can see to confirm the scope is right.
   Tip: Create a dedicated "Research" parent page so new briefs never land in random places.
3. **Ask for a sourced brief**: Give Claude a clear question, the audience and your template headings, for example Summary, Findings, Open questions and Sources. Ask it to cite a link next to each claim and to say when sources disagree. Read the draft, open the links behind the key numbers, then ask Claude to create the page under your research parent.
   Tip: Ask for a "confidence" note per finding so weak claims stand out.

## Prompts to try

- Research how EU companies are preparing for the AI Act's obligations this year and write a one-page brief in Notion under Research, with sources.
- Find three recent articles comparing Postgres hosting options for small teams and summarise the trade-offs in a Notion page.
- Search for the latest public pricing of Linear, Jira and Asana and put it in a Notion table with source links and the date you checked.
- Update the brief "Competitor landscape" in Notion with anything new from the last month and mark what changed.

## What you need

- Brave Search API key
- Notion workspace where you can connect integrations
- Claude Desktop or Claude Code
- A Notion parent page or template for briefs

## Limits

- Claude only sees what search results and accessible pages contain; paywalled sources are out of reach.
- Briefs reflect the date you ran them and do not update themselves.
- Citations can point to the right page but the wrong detail, so check key claims.

## Security notes

- Search results can be wrong. Check key claims against the cited source.
- Limit Notion access to one teamspace.

## MCP servers

- [Brave Search MCP Server](https://github.com/brave/brave-search-mcp-server): web-search
- [Notion MCP Server](https://developers.notion.com/docs/mcp): page-read, page-write

## FAQ

**Do I need to pay for Brave Search?**

You need a Brave Search API key, and Brave's API plans set how many queries you can make. Check the current plans on Brave's site before you run many briefs, because each brief can use several searches.

**How do I know the brief is accurate?**

Claude cites the pages it used, but search results and summaries can still be wrong. Open the sources behind any number or quote you plan to reuse and correct the page if needed.

**Can Claude read paywalled articles?**

No. Brave Search returns titles, snippets and links, and Claude cannot get past paywalls or logins. Paste the text yourself if you have legitimate access and want it included.

**Which host works best?**

Claude Desktop is the simplest place to run research and review drafts. Claude Code also works if you prefer the terminal or want to save briefs as files too.

## Tools

- **[Notion](https://suiteintent.com/t/notion?m=GB)**: Docs, wikis and lightweight databases. · Best for: Building a shared company wiki · Free plan · Free for students