Use when deciding whether a political-science project fits the American Political Science Review (APSR) and which of its five tracks to target. APSR is the discipline's generalist flagship, so the test is general significance across subfields, not subfield novelty alone. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.
SkillScore91Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 20 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 7 of 22 without it.
Without skill32%
With skill91%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Uses the format tag 【Track】
Uses the format tag 【Question】
Uses the format tag 【Fit verdict】
and 9 more in the full report
15 fixed5 passed either way0 still failing2 broke
Pass-rate lift
+59 pp
Tokens
-2%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-44%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v120 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 15 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 15
Prompt
I collected original replication data and discovered a coding error in a landmark published study on electoral systems in APSR. Fixing the error reverses the main result. Evaluate this submission idea for APSR with structured fields for question, cross-subfield relevance, contribution type, track, fit verdict, and next step.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Recommends Replications and Reappraisals track
Missed
Passed
Identifies contribution type as corrected record
Missed
Passed
case-12 · 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.md68 linessingle file
Topic Selection & Fit (apsr-topic-selection)
APSR is the general-interest flagship of political science. The bar is not "new to my subfield" —
it is "matters to the discipline." Use this skill to pressure-test fit before you invest.
When to trigger
Choosing among possible projects or framings for an APSR submission
A reviewer/colleague said the paper feels "too narrow" or "subfield-only"
Deciding between a Regular Article and a Research Note
Considering Registered Reports (prospective design) or Replications and Reappraisals
The APSR fit test
A strong APSR paper usually clears all four:
General significance. A scholar in a different subfield (e.g., a comparativist reading an
Americanist paper) should see why it matters. State the stakes for politics broadly — power,
institutions, behavior, representation, conflict, justice.
A real contribution, not just a finding. It changes how the field thinks, measures, or argues
— a new theory, a decisive test, a reconceptualization, a corrected record.
Credible on its own methodological terms. Quantitative, qualitative, formal, experimental, or
interpretive — each is welcome, but each must be done rigorously (see apsr-research-design).
A clean, answerable scope. The question is sharp enough to answer convincingly within
~11,000 words (Article) or ~7,000 (Research Note).
Subfield framing (write past your home subfield)
Home subfield
Reach to the discipline by…
American politics
tie to representation, institutions, or behavior that travels beyond the US case
Comparative
draw the general mechanism, not just the country case; speak to theory others can use
International relations
connect to cooperation, conflict, or institutions as general phenomena
Political theory
show why the normative/conceptual stakes matter for empirical work or public life
Methodology
show what substantive questions the method newly answers — not method for its own sake
Track choice
Regular Article — full study, broad claim, < 11,000 words.
Research Note — one crisp contribution (a decisive test, a measurement advance, a focused
Use when deciding whether a political-science project fits the British Journal of Political Science (BJPS) and which of its three formats to target. BJPS is a broad, internationally-oriented general journal, so the test is wide interest across subfields and beyond one national case, not subfield novelty alone. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.