diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index feda52d..a0c9e7b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Each research topic is a **directory** at the vault root with an `index.md` entr
 ```
 
 - **Small topics**: just `index.md` alone in the directory.
-- **Big topics**: split into detail files as they grow. Link them from `index.md` with `[[wikilinks]]`.
+- **Big topics**: split into detail files as they grow. Link them from `index.md` with path-qualified wikilinks (e.g. `[[topic-slug/sources|Sources]]`) to avoid ambiguous basenames across topics.
 - Detail file names are up to you — `sources`, `analysis`, `methodology`, `notes`, `summary`, `next-steps` are common patterns.
 
 ### Frontmatter (in `index.md`)
@@ -33,15 +33,21 @@ Each research topic is a **directory** at the vault root with an `index.md` entr
 ```yaml
 ---
 title: One-line summary
+description: Short description for search results and link previews
 status: exploring | active | concluded | shelved
 category: market | technical | competitive | legal | scientific | exploratory
 tags: []
+draft: true
 created: YYYY-MM-DD
 updated: YYYY-MM-DD
 origin: buzz://<channel-uuid>/<event-id>
 ---
 ```
 
+- `description` — improves search results, link previews, RSS, and SEO when published via Quartz.
+- `draft: true` — excludes the topic from the published site. Set `draft: false` when ready to publish.
+- `created` / `updated` — Quartz recognizes these for date display and sorting.
+
 ### Categories
 
 Categories are in frontmatter, not folders — every topic lives at the vault root.
@@ -69,11 +75,13 @@ exploring → active → concluded
 
 ## Bases
 
-Open `Research Base` (in `bases/research-base.md`) to see all topics as a filterable, sortable table — by status, category, tags, or date. Only `index.md` files appear; detail files are excluded via the `file.name.is("index")` filter.
+Open `Research Base` (in `bases/research-base.base`) to see all topics as a filterable, sortable table — by status, category, tags, or date. Only `index.md` files appear; detail files are excluded via the `file.name == "index.md"` filter.
 
 ## Graph View
 
-Wikilinks between detail files within a topic, and between topics via shared tags, create a knowledge graph visible in Obsidian's graph view. Cross-links to [[index|Idea Dump]] entries (e.g., research that feeds a product idea) work natively since both vaults live under the same Obsidian vault.
+Wikilinks between detail files within a topic, and between topics, create a knowledge graph visible in Obsidian's graph view. Use path-qualified links (`[[topic-slug/sources|Sources]]`) to avoid ambiguous basenames. Tags make topics discoverable and filterable but do not themselves create graph edges — only links do.
+
+Note: cross-vault wikilinks (e.g. to idea-dump entries) only work if both vaults are directories within the same Obsidian vault. If publishing via Quartz, links can only resolve within the same content tree — use public URLs for cross-site references.
 
 ## Publishing (Future)
 
@@ -82,4 +90,4 @@ The vault is structured for eventual publication as a public knowledge base:
 - **Quartz** (recommended) — free static site generator for Obsidian vaults. Preserves wikilinks, backlinks, graph view, and full-text search. Self-hostable via NixOS.
 - **Obsidian Publish** — paid, simplest, but not self-hosted.
 
-The `index.md` + wikilink structure means the published site will render as a connected knowledge graph, not a flat list of documents.
+The `index.md` + wikilink structure means the published site will render as a connected knowledge graph, not a flat list of documents. The `draft` frontmatter field controls which topics are published.
diff --git a/bases/research-base.base b/bases/research-base.base
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6479722
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bases/research-base.base
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+filters:
+  and:
+    - file.name == "index.md"
+formulas:
+  age_days: '((now() - file.ctime) / 86400000).floor()'
+properties:
+  title:
+    displayName: Title
+  status:
+    displayName: Status
+  category:
+    displayName: Category
+  tags:
+    displayName: Tags
+  created:
+    displayName: Created
+  updated:
+    displayName: Updated
+  formula.age_days:
+    displayName: Age
+views:
+  - type: table
+    name: Research
+    order:
+      - title
+      - status
+      - category
+      - tags
+      - created
+      - updated
+      - formula.age_days
diff --git a/bases/research-base.md b/bases/research-base.md
deleted file mode 100644
index b9eb4a4..0000000
--- a/bases/research-base.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
----
-filters:
-  and:
-    - file.name.is("index")
-formulas:
-  age_days: 'date(now) - file.ctime'
-properties:
-  status:
-    input: select
-    options:
-      - exploring
-      - active
-      - concluded
-      - shelved
-  category:
-    input: select
-    options:
-      - market
-      - technical
-      - competitive
-      - legal
-      - scientific
-      - exploratory
-  tags:
-    input: tags
-  created:
-    input: date
-  updated:
-    input: date
-  origin:
-    input: text
----
-
-# Research Base
-
-All research topics, filterable by status, category, tags, and date. Detail files are excluded — only `index.md` per topic directory appears here.
-
-| Title | Status | Category | Tags | Created | Updated |
-|-------|--------|----------|------|---------|---------|
-| {{title}} | {{status}} | {{category}} | {{tags}} | {{created}} | {{updated}} |
diff --git a/templates/research-template.md b/templates/research-template.md
index 39e8089..efffada 100644
--- a/templates/research-template.md
+++ b/templates/research-template.md
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 ---
 title: 
+description: 
 status: exploring
 category: 
 tags: []
+draft: true
 created: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
 updated: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
 origin: 
@@ -18,6 +20,10 @@ One or two sentences on what this research investigates.
 
 What specific question are we trying to answer?
 
+## Scope
+
+What is included, excluded, and what would count as a sufficient answer?
+
 ## Key Findings
 
 - 
@@ -30,17 +36,21 @@ Key references, links, and data sources. For a full list, see [[sources]] if the
 
 ## Detail Files
 
-Optional — create these only when research grows and you want to modularize:
+Optional — create these only when research grows and you want to modularize. Use path-qualified links to avoid ambiguous basenames across topics:
 
-- [[sources]] — links, references, data sources, API docs
-- [[analysis]] — deep analysis, findings, comparisons
-- [[methodology]] — how the research was conducted, tools used
-- [[notes]] — working notes, raw observations, intermediate results
-- [[summary]] — final synthesis (when concluded)
-- [[next-steps]] — follow-up questions, gaps, future research
+- [[topic-slug/sources|Sources]] — links, references, data sources, API docs
+- [[topic-slug/analysis|Analysis]] — deep analysis, findings, comparisons
+- [[topic-slug/methodology|Methodology]] — how the research was conducted, tools used
+- [[topic-slug/notes|Notes]] — working notes, raw observations, intermediate results
+- [[topic-slug/summary|Summary]] — final synthesis (when concluded)
+- [[topic-slug/next-steps|Next Steps]] — follow-up questions, gaps, future research
 
 For small topics, keep everything in `index.md` and delete this section.
 
+## Related Research
+
+- 
+
 ## Discussion
 
 Notes from the Buzz channel discussion. Link back to the thread with the origin URL.
@@ -51,4 +61,4 @@ Notes from the Buzz channel discussion. Link back to the thread with the origin
 
 ## Conclusion
 
-What did we find? (concluded / shelved — update the frontmatter status too)
+What did we find? (concluded / shelved — update the frontmatter status and set `draft: false` if publishing)