How to generate a trustworthy article using notebooklm

This article gives a detailed description about how to create a highly accurate research article about any topic with solid references and trustworthy process

Step 1: Construct the “Who to Trust” Framework

Create a foundational source file or note titled who_to_trust.txt. This document sets the mandatory expert parameters the AI must use when browsing the web via Deep Research. Refer who_to_trust example article in next page

Step 2: Initial Deep Research (The “Primary Search”)

Use the Deep Research feature (Source panel > Web > Deep Research) to conduct your initial broad inquiry. Because the Deep Research agent is autonomous and browses the web, you must manually copy-paste the relevant criteria from Step 1 into the search box

Example Detailed Prompt for Step 2:

“Conduct Deep Research on the origin and history of [Subject Name]. [Add constraints]”

If this search contains topics related to hindu scriptures and government data then copy the mandatory criteria from the relevant sections from who_to_trust document.

Step 3: Source Filtration and Manual Vetting

Once Deep Research completes its plan, it presents a list of sources with one-line descriptions.

• Action: Review the list and uncheck any source that appears to be a blog, social media post, or non-academic site. Import only the vetted technical and scholarly sources into your notebook.

Step 4: Summary Creation & Topic Extraction

NotebookLM will generate a broad report from your vetted sources. Save this as a Note in your Studio panel and name it [Primary Subject Summary]

• Action: Create a separate note titled Interesting Topics. List every unique or interesting fact from the primary summary. Even if a fact came from a “fluff” source (if one slipped through), list it here as a “research lead” for verification

Step 5: Recursive Verification Loop

Repeat the Deep Research process for every unverified or niche claim found in Step 4. You are repeating Steps 2–4 for each individual topic

Example Recursive Prompt for Step 5:

“Conduct Deep Research to verify the following claim: ‘[Insert specific claim, e.g., Description of River X in the Vishnu Purana] [add constraints from who_to_trust like in step one]’.

• Naming Convention: Save the summary created by deep search results as [{Topic Name} + Verification Report].

• Action: Update your Interesting Topics note. Check off topics that are now backed by primary PDFs; modify or delete those that were unverified by experts, if you find any interesting topic that might have been missed in the initial deep search then add it to the bottom of interesting topic list, to get it verified.

Step 6: Grounding Cleanup & Structural Architecture

This step now serves as the bridge between “raw research” and “academic drafting.”

1. Create a New Note: In the Studio panel, create a note titled Structure of Primary Summary

2. Extract the Outline: Copy only the headers and the logical flow (the structure) of the initial [Primary Subject Summary]. Do not copy the unverified sources and its references, remove all the topics that are not in interesting topics note.

3. Purge the Fluff: Keep only the primary scholarly sources (PDFs, government reports) and your Interesting Topics note toggled ON in the sidebar. Toggle OFF (uncheck) the initial [Primary Subject Summary] and any reports that contain unverified data to ensure the AI does not cite them in the final draft

4. Keep all the summaries created in step turned on. Read “Importance of verification summaries” note to understand the importance of these summaries for our final report.

5. Final Grounding: Ensure only your verified scholarly sources, your Interesting Topics note, and your Structure of Primary Summary note are toggled ON

Refer to following article about [Importance of verification summaries]

Step 7: Final Academic Synthesis

Configure the Custom Conversational Style with the following instruction to ensure high-integrity formatting:

“Respond at a PhD student level. In all responses, prioritize the information in my ‘Interesting Topics’ note and verified reports. In the in-line citations, use APA 7 style referencing in the (Author, Year) format within parentheses. However, always keep the original numeric source links (e.g.,,) to preserve clickability. This is mandatory.”

The Final Drafting Prompt:

“Using the organizational framework in my ‘Structure of Primary Summary’ note, write a final academic article. Populate this structure using only the verified facts from my ‘Interesting Topics’ note and my scholarly sources. Improve and modify the summary so that all claims are backed by properly formatted APA 7 citations that link back to the verified sources.”