---
name: yogsoth-ai-hypothesis-formation-variable-identification
description: "SOP: identify variables and their roles within a hypothesis"
license: "Apache-2.0"
metadata:
  decimalai-skill-id: "1cde6d12-1529-499d-9977-210f0978367d"
  decimalai-version-id: "2cc75592-0212-4aef-9467-51f5bbb7d0ec"
  decimalai-version: "1"
  decimalai-body-sha256: "71a42be6aef4af343012efd8129ead360ad43ab234f0b40082c9c2abc286c296"
  decimalai-name: "yogsoth-ai/hypothesis-formation-variable-identification"
  decimalai-format: "1"
  decimalai-invocation: "model"
  decimalai-category: "science"
  decimalai-source: "https://app.decimal.ai/s/yogsoth-ai-hypothesis-formation-variable-identification@1/SKILL.md"
---
# Variable Identification
Identify all variables from a mechanism description and annotate their roles within the hypothesis structure.

## HARD-GATE
<HARD-GATE>
Preconditions (all must hold before starting):
1. At least 1 causal mechanism chain has been provided
2. The mechanism chain contains identifiable variable names

Not met → stop, return error: mechanism description is insufficient to identify variables.
</HARD-GATE>

## Pipeline
1. Precondition check: verify mechanism chain completeness
2. Variable extraction: enumerate all variables from every mechanism chain (including implicit variables)
3. Role classification: assign a role to each variable (IV/DV/mediator/moderator/control/confound)
4. Deduplication and merging: when the same variable appears in different mechanisms, merge it and annotate multiple roles
5. Operationalizability assessment: evaluate whether each variable can be measured (high/medium/low/unclear)
6. Output a structured variable list

## Output Format
```json
[
  {
    "name": "Variable name",
    "role": "IV | DV | mediator | moderator | control | confound",
    "description": "What this variable represents",
    "source_mechanism": ["mechanism name(s) where this variable appears"],
    "operationalizable": "high | medium | low | unclear",
    "operationalization_notes": "How it might be measured or manipulated"
  }
]
```
Identify at least 2 variables (1 IV + 1 DV).