This skill should be used when the user asks to "brainstorm research ideas", "use 5W1H framework", "identify research gaps", "conduct gap analysis", "start research project", "conduct literature review", "define research question", "select research method", "plan research", or mentions research project initiation phase. Provides comprehensive guidance for research startup workflow from idea generation to planning.
SkillScore82Maintained
On-demandOn-demand: invoked explicitly — never occupies your agent's context until called.
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/8/2026
What it changes
Passed 18 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 22 without it.
Without skill41%
With skill82%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Includes section header '## Suggested Next Steps'.
Generates between 3 and 5 research questions total.
Includes 2 to 3 paper citations under Related Work.
and 8 more in the full report
9 fixed9 passed either way4 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+41 pp
Tokens
+57%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
+49%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/8/2026v618 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 9 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 9
Prompt
When titling each research question section for an ideation report on renewable energy subsidies, how should the section header be formatted?
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Includes feasibility rating inside research question section header.
Missed
Passed
case-14 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/8/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md95 linessingle file
Research Ideation
Generate structured research questions, testable hypotheses, and empirical strategies from a topic, phenomenon, or dataset.
Input:$ARGUMENTS — a topic (e.g., "minimum wage effects on employment"), a phenomenon (e.g., "why do firms cluster geographically?"), or a dataset description (e.g., "panel of US counties with pollution and health outcomes, 2000-2020").
Steps
Understand the input. Read $ARGUMENTS and any referenced files. Check master_supporting_docs/ for related papers. Check .claude/rules/ for domain conventions.
Generate 3-5 research questions ordered from descriptive to causal:
Descriptive: What are the patterns? (e.g., "How has X evolved over time?")
Correlational: What factors are associated? (e.g., "Is X correlated with Y after controlling for Z?")
Causal: What is the effect? (e.g., "What is the causal effect of X on Y?")
Mechanism: Why does the effect exist? (e.g., "Through what channel does X affect Y?")
Policy: What are the implications? (e.g., "Would policy X improve outcome Y?")
For each research question, develop:
Hypothesis: A testable prediction with expected sign/magnitude
Identification strategy: How to establish causality (DiD, IV, RDD, synthetic control, etc.)
Data requirements: What data would be needed? Is it available?
Key assumptions: What must hold for the strategy to be valid?
Potential pitfalls: Common threats to identification
Related literature: 2-3 papers using similar approaches
Rank the questions by feasibility and contribution.
Save the output to quality_reports/research_ideation_[sanitized_topic].md
Output Format
# Research Ideation: [Topic]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Input:** [Original input]