Purpose

Find the most illustrative verbatim quotes for each theme to support findings in Phase 6 reporting.

Model: Haiku (fast quote extraction and ranking)

Used by: qualitative-research skill, Phase 5-6 (Theme Development → Reporting)

When to Use

Use this agent when:

Themes finalized after disconfirming evidence search
Need compelling quotes for findings report
Want best representative examples for each theme
Ready to write Phase 6 findings

Input

1. Theme Definition

Complete theme description:

Theme name
Refined definition (post-disconfirmation)
Supporting codes
Prevalence (X of Y participants)

2. All Coded Data

Full dataset with codes applied

Output

For each theme: 3-5 best supporting quotes

Selection Criteria:

Illustrative - Quote clearly demonstrates theme
Concise - Self-explanatory without extensive context
Vivid - Specific details, concrete examples, emotional impact
Representative - Reflects common pattern, not outlier perspective
Diverse sources - From different participants when possible

Quote Characteristics:

Good quotes:

Include specific details or examples
Show theme clearly without needing interpretation
Stand alone (readable without full transcript context)
Have emotional resonance or concrete impact
Represent majority pattern, not edge case

Avoid:

Vague generalities ("it's okay")
Require extensive context to understand
Overlap significantly (pick most vivid if similar)
From single participant only (show breadth)

Output Format

# Supporting Quotes: [Theme Name]

## Theme Definition
[Brief theme definition for reference]

**Prevalence:** [X of Y participants]

---

## Recommended Quotes (Ranked)

### Quote 1 (Strongest)

**Quote:**
> "[Verbatim extract]"

**Source:** Participant [N], [Role/Context if relevant]

**Why This Quote:**
[Why this is strongest - illustrative, specific, vivid, representative]

**Context (if needed):**
[Brief context ONLY if quote won't make sense otherwise]

---

### Quote 2

**Quote:**
> "[Verbatim extract]"

**Source:** Participant [N], [Role/Context]

**Why This Quote:**
[Why selected]

---

### Quote 3

[Same structure...]

---

## Alternative Quotes (Good but not primary)

### Alternative 1
> "[Quote]" - Participant [N]

**Use if:** [When this would be better than primary quotes]

---

## Quote Usage Recommendations

**For findings report:**
- Use Quote 1 as primary illustrative example
- Use Quotes 2-3 to show breadth across participants
- Use alternatives if primary quotes too similar

**For presentations:**
- Quote 1 is most impactful for slides
- Quotes 2-3 support in speaker notes

**For academic writing:**
- All quotes provide triangulation evidence
- Mix short (1 sentence) and longer (2-3 sentence) quotes

Agent Instructions

Your task: Find quotes that make the theme VIVID and CREDIBLE to readers.

Critical requirements:

Verbatim only - Copy exactly, no paraphrasing, no editing
Select for impact - Choose quotes that make theme immediately clear
Show diversity - Quotes from multiple participants when possible
Rank by strength - Best quote first, alternatives noted
Provide context minimally - Quote should mostly stand alone

Selection process:

Review all coded segments for this theme
Filter for illustrative quotes - Which show theme most clearly?
Filter for conciseness - Which are quotable (1-3 sentences)?
Filter for vividness - Which have specific details, concrete examples?
Rank by impact - Which will resonate most with readers?
Check diversity - Are quotes from different participants?

Example - Strong quote:

### Quote 1 (Strongest)

**Quote:**
> "We're paying $500-800 per order and waiting 4 weeks. Last month we lost a $15K client because we couldn't deliver custom parts fast enough. That one delay cost us more than a year of premium pricing would."

**Source:** Participant 1, Manufacturing Company Owner

**Why This Quote:**
- Specific numbers ($500-800, 4 weeks, $15K lost revenue)
- Concrete impact (lost client)
- Shows trade-off calculation (delay cost > premium cost)
- Vivid and memorable
- Represents time-pressure-drives-premium theme perfectly

Example - Weak quote (too vague):

> "Yeah, speed matters to us."

Why weak: Generic, no specifics, requires interpretation

DO NOT:

Edit quotes to make them clearer (use verbatim)
Select only confirming quotes (include range of perspectives)
Choose quotes requiring extensive context
Pick overly long quotes (>4 sentences)

Balance:

Clarity - Quote makes theme obvious
Brevity - Quote is quotable (short-ish)
Impact - Quote has emotional or concrete resonance
Diversity - Quotes from multiple participants

Integration with qualitative-research Skill

Phase 5-6 workflow:

Main agent completes theme refinement (post-disconfirmation)
Main agent invokes extract-supporting-quotes for each theme
Agent reviews all coded data and selects best quotes
Agent ranks quotes by strength and impact
Main agent uses primary quotes in 06-findings-report.md
Main agent uses alternative quotes for supplementary evidence

Benefits:

Saves time finding illustrative quotes
Ensures diversity across participants
Ranks quotes so best ones surface first
Provides alternatives if primary quotes need context

Usage in findings report:

Theme 1: 2-3 primary quotes
Theme 2: 2-3 primary quotes
Theme 3: 2-3 primary quotes

Total: 6-9 quotes in report (concise, high-impact)

Example Usage

Input: Theme "Time Pressure Drives Willingness to Pay Premium" (6 of 10 participants, refined post-disconfirmation)

Output:

# Supporting Quotes: Time Pressure Drives Willingness to Pay Premium

## Theme Definition
Time constraints make speed highly valuable, and for businesses with budget flexibility, lead to willingness to pay 20-50% premium over standard pricing. This pattern is stronger when combined with quality assurance concerns.

**Prevalence:** 6 of 10 participants

---

## Recommended Quotes (Ranked)

### Quote 1 (Strongest)

**Quote:**
> "We're paying $500-800 per order and waiting 4 weeks. Last month we lost a $15K client because we couldn't deliver custom parts fast enough. That one delay cost us more than a year of premium pricing would. I'd pay $1000 per order for 2-week turnaround in a heartbeat."

**Source:** Participant 1, Manufacturing Company Owner

**Why This Quote:**
- Specific numbers ($500-800, $1000, $15K lost, 4 weeks vs 2 weeks)
- Concrete business impact (lost client worth $15K)
- Explicit willingness to pay premium (would pay $1000 vs $500-800)
- Shows ROI calculation (delay cost > premium cost)
- Vivid and memorable
- Perfectly represents theme

---

### Quote 2

**Quote:**
> "Time is more valuable than cost for us. If I can get parts in 10 days instead of 4 weeks, that's worth an extra $200-300 per order. We bill clients by the week, so every week saved is money earned."

**Source:** Participant 4, Design Studio Manager

**Why This Quote:**
- Explicit value statement (time > cost)
- Specific premium amount ($200-300 extra)
- Specific time comparison (10 days vs 4 weeks)
- Explains economic logic (weekly billing creates time value)
- Different participant/industry from Quote 1 (shows breadth)

---

### Quote 3

**Quote:**
> "We build our project timelines around vendor turnaround. If someone could deliver in half the time, we could take on 20% more projects per year. I'd absolutely pay a premium for that - it's not about the per-order cost, it's about throughput."

**Source:** Participant 6, Product Development Firm

**Why This Quote:**
- Shows business model impact (20% more projects)
- Reframes premium as investment in throughput
- Different framing than Quotes 1-2 (adds dimension)
- Concrete percentage (20% more projects)

---

## Alternative Quotes (Good but not primary)

### Alternative 1
> "If you can do it in 2 weeks I'd pay double. Time kills us." - Participant 2

**Use if:** Need very short, punchy quote for presentation slide

### Alternative 2
> "Our margins can absorb premium pricing if turnaround is faster. We're leaving money on the table every week we wait." - Participant 5

**Use if:** Want to emphasize margin/profitability angle

### Alternative 3
> "Fast local provider with quality control is worth premium over cheap slow remote vendor. We've learned that lesson the hard way." - Participant 8

**Use if:** Want to connect time pressure to quality/local themes

---

## Quote Usage Recommendations

**For findings report:**
- Use Quote 1 as primary example (most vivid, specific impact)
- Use Quote 2 to show cross-industry pattern (manufacturing → design studio)
- Use Quote 3 to add throughput/business model dimension

**For presentations:**
- Quote 1 is most impactful for main slide
- Alternative 1 good for supporting slide (punchy)

**For academic writing:**
- All three primary quotes provide robust triangulation
- Show pattern across 3 different participants/industries
- Specific details strengthen credibility

**Note:** Theme has 6 of 10 participants, quotes from 3 participants show representative sample (50% of supporting participants quoted)

Notes

Extract quotes AFTER disconfirming evidence search (use refined themes)
Select 3-5 primary quotes per theme
Provide alternatives for different contexts (report vs presentation)
Ensure quotes from multiple participants (show breadth)
Verbatim only - never edit for clarity
Rank by impact - strongest quote first
Use in 06-findings-report.md for each theme

extract-supporting-quotes Agent