Read a theme
Open a theme in Adduce, read the evidence clustered behind it, and decide from its strength and sentiment whether it is worth a brief.
A theme is a cluster Adduce built from your evidence: the same thing said in different words, in different places, gathered onto one page with every quote kept.
Before you begin
- Role: any project role can read a theme. Drafting a brief from one needs Editor or Lead.
- A source that has synced at least once, and a synthesis run that has grouped its evidence into themes.
Steps
Open the project and choose Themes. The table is ordered by strength, and each row carries a sentiment badge with the number of evidence items and sources behind it.
Open a theme. The band at the top is Adduce's verdict — Improvement recommended, Monitor this theme or No improvement needed — with the reason beneath it. If a brief has already been written from this theme the band names it; if not, the button reads Generate brief. The numbers the verdict came from sit in the rail on the right, and the table below explains them.
Read the Evidence tab. Every item is a quote as it was said, with the kind of signal it is, who said it, and a link back to the source it was taken from.
Check Contribution to see which sources and which speakers the theme is carried by, and Findings for anything Adduce has already flagged against it.
If the theme is worth acting on, choose Generate brief. Adduce writes a problem statement and a proposed change from this theme's evidence and links the two together; the band then reads Brief already generated with View brief beside it.
What the numbers mean
| On the page | What it is |
|---|---|
| Strength | How much of the project's evidence sits in this theme, as a value out of 100 and a bar, relative to every other theme |
| Sentiment | Whether the quotes read as Positive, Neutral or Negative |
| Evidence | How many quotes and observations are clustered here |
| Sources | How many connected tools contributed to it |
| Rank | Where the theme sits when the project is ordered by strength |
A theme with two evidence items or fewer is shown as Emerging instead of scored: too thin to grade honestly. Give it another sync before you decide anything from it.
What's next
- Work with briefs — what happens after Generate brief.
- Ask a question in Chat — ask across every theme at once.
- Connect your tools — a theme is only as broad as its sources.
Ask a question in Chat
Ask Adduce a question about your project and get an answer that cites the evidence behind it, from Chat or from the Ask AI shortcut.
Work with briefs
Read a brief in Adduce, move it through its statuses, record decisions on its open questions, and discuss it with your team in comments.