Use when deciding whether a political-science project fits the American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) and which submission type (Article, Research Note, Correspondence) to target. AJPS is a generalist but quantitatively leaning venue that rewards a sharp, well-identified question with a generalizable payoff. Helps frame the question and pick the type; it does not collect data.
SkillScore82Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 18 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 6 of 22 without it.
Without skill27%
With skill82%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The response sets Fit verdict to off-fit.
The response sets Submission type to Article.
The response sets Contribution type to method.
and 8 more in the full report
14 fixed4 passed either way2 still failing2 broke
Pass-rate lift
+55 pp
Tokens
+28%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-23%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v118 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 14 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 14
Prompt
We recently found a replication error in a prominent AJPS article regarding legislative coalition bargaining in parliamentary systems, and we are drafting a response to correct the empirical record. Can you evaluate our project's fit for the journal? Please provide your analysis using the standard bracketed structure:
【Question】
【Generalizable payoff】
【Contribution type】
【Submission type】
【Fit verdict】
【Next】
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The response sets Submission type to Correspondence.
Missed
Passed
The response sets Contribution type to corrected record.
Missed
Passed
case-03 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/15/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md72 linessingle file
Topic Selection & Fit (ajps-topic-selection)
AJPS publishes across the discipline but most of its pages carry rigorous empirical, experimental,
computational, or formal-empirical work. The test is not "novel to my subfield" alone — it is a
clear, well-identified contribution that a broad political-science audience will cite. Use this
skill to pressure-test fit before you invest.
When to trigger
Choosing among possible projects or framings for an AJPS submission
A colleague said the paper feels "descriptive," "thin on identification," or "too narrow"
Deciding between a full Article and a Research Note
Considering a Correspondence critique of a published AJPS finding
The AJPS fit test
A strong AJPS paper usually clears all four:
A sharp question with a generalizable answer. Not "what happened in case X" but "what does X
teach us about the general phenomenon (behavior, institutions, conflict, representation)?"
Credible identification or inference. AJPS reviewers expect the design to support the causal or
inferential claim being made (see ajps-research-design) — empirics carry the paper.
A real contribution, not a finding. It moves a theory, a measure, or a method forward, or
corrects the record — not "we ran the standard model on new data."
Answerable within the cap. Sharp enough to settle convincingly in <= 10,000 words (Article) or
<= 4,000 (Research Note / Correspondence).
Choosing the submission type
You have...
Type
Note
A full original study
Article (<= 10,000 words)
the default research format
A methodological advance (incl. methodology in normative theory)
Research Note (<= 4,000)
reserved for methods + meta-analyses
A meta-analysis of an existing literature
Research Note (<= 4,000)
not a narrative review
A correction/critique of a paper published in AJPS
Correspondence (<= 4,000)
minor-error-only critiques risk desk rejection
Do not pad a small empirical result into a Research Note: the Note type at AJPS is methodology and
meta-analysis, not a short empirical paper. A focused empirical study is still an Article.
Use when deciding whether a sociology project fits the American Journal of Sociology (AJS) and how to frame it. AJS is the discipline's oldest generalist journal, with a premium on theoretical ambition and dialogue with current sociology; the test is general significance plus a portable theoretical payoff, not subfield novelty alone. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.