Search Fund Research Checklist: Free Reading Template

A research headline can leave losses and missing outcomes out of view. This free search fund research checklist helps you trace the source and record what remains unclear. By The SMB Investor Editorial. The blank checklist appears below.

Read the evidence behind the claim

Public research can describe a population without establishing what a particular investment will do. This qualitative reading template helps accredited investors, family offices and LPs record source limitations and open questions. It evaluates public research claims, with no score or investment verdict.

For related reading, start with the search fund returns research guide, examine broken searches and acquisition risk, and review search fund study comparability. The existing LP due diligence template addresses funds and transactions; this checklist addresses the evidence behind research claims.

What the research checklist covers

Trace source provenance

Record the research title, publisher and original source link so a recap does not stand in for the underlying work.

Identify the population

Describe which searches or investments the research includes and the geography it covers.

Establish the observation period

Note when observation begins and ends, keeping the publication date separate from the period studied.

Clarify the measurement basis

Describe what the reported return or outcome measure captures and which definitions the source supplies.

Look for missing outcomes

Record exclusions, separately reported outcomes and gaps in follow-up before treating visible experiences as representative.

Preserve unresolved questions

Write down ambiguous language and missing context, along with the source or clarification needed to resolve it.

How to use the reading template

Read the source behind the summary and keep its scope and definitions beside your notes.

Describe what the source actually reports and mark what it leaves unknown; an unanswered question stays unanswered.

Keep the source limitations attached whenever you summarize a finding or compare it with another study.

Copy this blank research checklist

Research title: [record here]

Publisher: [record here]

Original source URL: [record here]

Source type: original research or recap: [record here]

Population and geography: [record here]

Observation period: [record here]

Measurement basis and definitions: [record here]

Excluded outcomes: [record here]

Missing or unfinished outcomes: [record here]

Unresolved questions: [record here]

Source or clarification needed: [record here]

Select and copy this checklist into your research notes. Keep the source limits with each claim and leave unanswered fields marked as unknown.

Questions about the checklist

Copy the research checklist

Select and copy the blank checklist above into your research notes. Keep unresolved questions with the claims they concern. Published in partnership with SMB Investor Network.