Use Claude Projects to start a scientific research report.

Why this works

Claude Projects are useful when the work depends on repeated context: the same topic, files, instructions, and output goal across more than one chat.

This playbook follows the exact Ocean Waves demo from the video: add the research notes, add the synthetic California wave data, and use the provided project instructions.

This works because you give Claude the necessary Project context first, then instruct it to use that context for the questions or requests you care about. In this demo, we use that setup to start a research report.

What you need

• A Claude account with access to Projects.
• The Ocean Waves demo files if you want to follow along with this exact example. You can also use your own research files if you want to build a Project around a different topic.
• If your browser blocks ZIP downloads, create a few small files of your own instead. Use two or three short notes, a simple table, or a rough outline so you can still practice adding files to a Project and asking Claude to use that context in its answers.

Run it

1. 1
   Create the Ocean Waves Project

   Create a new Claude Project and name it Ocean Waves Research Demo or something similar. This gives the report one place for its files, instructions, and follow-up chats.
2. 2
   Upload the research files

   Upload the source notes and files you want Claude to use. If you are following the demo, upload the files from the Ocean Waves demo download. The point is to give Claude the context it needs before you ask it to create anything from that context.
3. 3
   Add the Project instructions

   Paste the instructions below into Claude's Project instructions. This keeps future chats aimed at the same report goal and tells Claude how to use the files.

   Copy Instructions

   You are helping write a beginner-friendly, scientifically accurate research report about how ocean waves are created.
   
   Goal:
   Explain ocean waves for a general audience using the uploaded research notes as the source material.
   
   When answering:
   - Use the uploaded research notes as the source of truth.
   - Explain in plain English for a beginner.
   - Mention which uploaded note or notes you used.
   - Cite the source URLs listed inside the notes when giving factual claims.

4. 4
   Ask Claude what it can see before asking for output

   Start with a quick context check. Ask Claude to summarize what files are in the Project, what each one is for, what the CSV contains, and what caveats are attached to the sample data.
5. 5
   Ask for the research-report starter

   Now ask Claude to turn the Project context into the first useful output. In this demo, that means a beginner-friendly research-report introduction, the main ideas to cover, and one useful graph or visual idea based on the files.

   Copy Prompt

   Using the uploaded Project files, help me start a short research report called "How Ocean Waves Are Created."
   
   I want it to include:
   1. A beginner-friendly introduction
   2. The main points the report should explain
   3. Which uploaded files support those points
   4. One useful graph or visual idea based on the files
   5. Any facts I should verify before publishing
   
   Keep the answer practical and beginner-friendly. Do not add facts that are not supported by the uploaded notes. Treat the California data as synthetic sample data only, not as real observations.

6. 6
   Turn the starter into a usable report asset

   After Claude gives you the starter, ask it to refine the introduction, expand the section structure, or create a simple visual or graph plan. If your setup supports document creation or export, you can also ask Claude to format the draft so it is ready to move into a document.
7. 7
   Review the starter before building on it

   Check that Claude separates source-backed wave science from sample-data observations. Use the output as a starting point, then keep asking follow-up questions inside the same Project so the report keeps using the same context.