Use when deciding whether a communication project fits Communication Research (CR) and is shaped as quantitative, theory-testing social science. CR rewards a clear communication-science question with a testable mechanism, not platform novelty or description. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.
SkillScore78Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 9/1/2026
What it changes
Passed 18 of 23 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 23 without it.
Without skill39%
With skill78%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Contains the header 【Next】
Contains the header 【Question】
Contains the header 【Fit verdict】
and 12 more in the full report
13 fixed5 passed either way1 still failing4 broke
Pass-rate lift
+39 pp
Tokens
-3%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-36%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 9/1/2026v118 of 23 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 13 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 13
Prompt
Our project is a 3-wave longitudinal panel study testing how algorithmic recommendation awareness (measured via validated scales) moderates the indirect effect of news consumption on misperception belief. We are ready to proceed with Communication Research. Evaluate the topic framing and indicate the required next skill block.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Classifies the fit verdict as strong
Passed
Passed
Recommends commres-literature-positioning as the next step
Missed
Passed
case-23 · gemini-3.6-flash · 9/1/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md85 linessingle file
Topic Selection & Fit (commres-topic-selection)
CR is SAGE's quantitative, social-scientific communication journal. The bar is not "new on this
platform" or "interesting case" — it is "advances communication science with a testable
mechanism." Use this skill to pressure-test fit before you invest.
When to trigger
Choosing among possible projects or framings for a CR submission
A reviewer/colleague said the paper feels "descriptive," "atheoretical," or "qualitative for CR"
Deciding whether CR or a sibling (JoC, HCR, New Media & Society) is the right home
Sharpening a vague effect into a hypothesis-testing communication-science question
The CR fit test
A strong CR paper usually clears all four:
Communication-science question. It is about a communication process — message effects,
media processing, persuasion, interpersonal/organizational dynamics, health or political
communication, new-media use and effects — framed at the level of constructs, not one anecdote.
A testable mechanism, not just a finding. CR rewards why and for whom: a mediating
process (mediation), a boundary condition (moderation), or an adjudication between rival accounts.
Quantitative identification. An experiment, survey/panel, or content analysis with measured
constructs that can credibly test the hypotheses (see commres-research-design).
Rigorous measurement. Validated multi-item scales or a reliability-tested codebook — CR
reviewers scrutinize whether the measured thing is the construct claimed.
Study-type framing (lead with the process, not the platform)
Home area
Reach CR by…
Media effects / processing
name the cognitive/affective mechanism and test it, not just a stimulus response
Persuasion / message effects
model the message feature → mediator → outcome path, with rival accounts
Interpersonal / organizational
generalize the relational mechanism; measure it, do not infer it from one case
Health / political communication
show the audience/message process that travels beyond one topic
New-media use & effects
test the use→effect process; platform is the site, the process is the contribution