Understanding reports
Learn how synthesis reports are structured, how the claims matrix and citations work, and what the methodology banner tells you.
Understanding reports
When a research job finishes, Parallect produces a synthesis report: a single, readable document that combines perspectives, surfaces disagreements, and ties claims back to sources. This page walks through the main pieces so you know how to read what you're seeing.
Report structure
Synthesis reports are organized like a polished brief: sections and headings break the answer into topics, and inline citations anchor specific sentences or paragraphs to the sources that support them. You can skim by heading for the gist, then drill into citations where you need proof or nuance.
The synthesis is meant to be one coherent narrative, not a pile of separate answers -- so you'll see merged reasoning, cross-references between sections, and language that reflects agreement or tension across providers.
Claims matrix
Click a claim to see its citation — hover provider dots for agreement
"National vacancy rates reached 21.4% by end of 2025, with gateway cities experiencing the steepest declines in occupancy…"
"While suburban demand rose measurably, the 12-15% figure conflates multiple market segments and timeframes…"
"Stabilization depends heavily on industry sector; knowledge workers trend toward 2-3 days while service roles differ significantly…"
The claims matrix
The claims matrix is a structured view of key claims from the research -- the assertions that matter for your decision or understanding. For each claim you'll typically see:
- Confidence -- How well-supported the claim is based on the evidence.
- Provider agreement -- Which providers support or contradict the claim, so you can see alignment or debate at a glance.
- Voting -- A scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree you can use to register your own take on the claim. Your votes help improve the community experience.
The matrix complements the narrative report: use the report for flow and context, and the matrix when you want a compact, comparable view of what's contested vs. settled.
Citations and popovers
Inline citations link claims in the text to the sources behind them. Hovering (or focusing) a citation opens a popover with useful context:
- Title and domain so you recognize the page or document.
- Quality indicator -- a signal for how reliable the source is.
- A snippet of the relevant passage.
Together, this makes it easier to judge evidence quality without leaving the report: you see not only what was cited, but how the source is categorized.
Methodology banner
Near the report you'll see a methodology banner summarizing how the answer was produced. It usually includes:
- Providers used in the run.
- Synthesis date -- when the document was produced.
- Mode (fast vs. methodical) and tier -- how the job was configured.
- Duration and cost -- how long it took and what it spent against your balance.
Use the banner when you're comparing runs over time or sharing a report with someone who needs to know how the result was generated.
Evidence quality indicators
Parallect surfaces cues -- such as source quality and how providers line up on a claim -- so you can quickly spot strongly supported statements vs. thin or disputed ones. When stakes are high, follow citations to the popover, check provider agreement in the matrix, and prefer claims with consistent backing across sources.
Next: when you're ready to share your work, read Publishing reports for visibility, review, and public URLs.