Research Ideation
Supports the complete workflow for the research project initiation phase, from vague idea to a traceable research contract: research question, hypothesis, evidence needs, falsification criteria, method selection, and next action.
Core Features
1. Idea Brainstorming (5W1H Framework)
Systematically brainstorm research ideas using the 5W1H framework:
- What: What problem or phenomenon to study
- Why: Why this problem is important
- Who: Target audience and stakeholders
- When: Time scope and context of the research
- Where: Application scenarios and domains
- How: Preliminary research methodology ideas
Integration with superpowers:brainstorming: Can invoke the superpowers:brainstorming skill for interactive brainstorming to help rapidly generate and evaluate research ideas.
2. Literature Review
Systematically search, analyze, and synthesize related literature:
- Build effective search keywords
- Search via WebSearch across academic databases (arXiv, Google Scholar, etc.)
- Screen and evaluate paper quality
- Identify research trends and gaps
- Generate structured literature reviews from evidence-labeled sources
- Zotero Integration: Papers are automatically added to Zotero via DOI, organized into topic-based collections, and open-access PDFs are auto-attached for full-text reading
3. Gap Analysis
Systematically identify and evaluate research gaps:
- Literature gaps: Identify topics or questions not yet sufficiently studied
- Methodological gaps: Discover limitations and improvement opportunities in existing methods
- Application gaps: Identify opportunities for theory-to-practice transfer
- Interdisciplinary gaps: Discover research opportunities at the intersection of different fields
- Temporal gaps: Identify new research needs arising from changes over time
Analysis Dimensions:
- Coverage of research topics
- Comparison of strengths and weaknesses of existing methods
- Completeness of experimental setups
- Availability of datasets and benchmarks
- Gap between theory and practice
4. Research Question Definition
Formulate specific research questions based on literature analysis:
- Identify research gaps and opportunities
- Apply SMART principles to formulate questions
- Evaluate importance, novelty, and feasibility
- Define research objectives and expected contributions
- Write a
Research Question Card that states the hypothesis, current evidence, missing evidence, support criteria, falsification criteria, and minimal next action - Apply the proposal readiness gate before turning a card into a polished proposal
5. Method Selection
Select appropriate research methods:
- Analyze strengths and weaknesses of existing methods
- Evaluate method applicability
- Identify required technologies and resources
- Consider method feasibility
6. Research Planning
Develop detailed research plans:
- Plan research timeline
- Define milestones and deliverables
- Identify potential risks
- Assess resource requirements
When to Use
Scenarios for This Skill
Use the research-ideation skill in the following situations:
- Starting a new research project - Have research interests but no clear research question yet
- Literature review - Need to systematically understand a research field
- Research question formulation - Need to transform vague ideas into specific research questions
- Method selection - Need to choose appropriate research methods and technical approaches
- Research planning - Need to plan research timeline and resources
Typical Workflow
Research interest → Idea brainstorming (5W1H) → Research Question Card → Evidence Records → Gap analysis → Proposal readiness gate → Select method or experiment → Decision
Conditional Outputs:
research-question-card.md - Always generate this for research startup or intake.literature-review.md - Generate only when evidence-labeled sources are sufficient for synthesis.research-proposal.md - Generate only when a selected Research Question Card passes the evidence gate.references.bib - Generate only when reliable citation metadata exists.- Zotero collection with organized papers and PDFs - Create only when Zotero is configured, writable, and the user is not asking for dry-run/audit mode.
Integration with Other Systems
Complete Research Workflow
research-ideation (Research initiation)
↓
Experiment execution (completed by user)
↓
results-analysis (Results analysis)
↓
ml-paper-writing (Paper writing)
Data Flow
- Research Question Card → Guides literature scope, experiment design, and method selection
- Evidence Records → Carry source type, claim strength, and allowed/forbidden wording into literature synthesis, project knowledge, and later claim audit
- Proposal Readiness Gate → Prevents abstract-only or webpage-placeholder evidence from becoming a polished proposal
- Experimental results → results-analysis for statistical analysis and claim candidates
- Analysis results → results-report and ml-paper-writing with explicit evidence limits
Zotero Integration
Through the Zotero MCP server, the research-ideation workflow automates literature management:
- Paper Discovery: WebSearch finds relevant papers across academic databases
- Auto-Import: Extract DOI / arXiv ID / landing-page URLs from search results, then use
zotero_add_items_by_identifier to prefer paper/preprint imports before any webpage fallback - Collection Organization:
zotero_create_collection creates topic-based collections with standard sub-collections (Core Papers, Methods, Applications, Baselines, To-Read) - PDF Attachment:
zotero_add_items_by_identifier(..., attach_pdf=true) runs a PDF cascade (landing-page PDF hints → direct PDF → Unpaywall), and zotero_find_and_attach_pdfs can be used as a follow-up sweep for remaining items - Full-Text Reading:
zotero_get_item_fulltext reads indexed PDF content for analysis and note-taking - Library Search:
zotero_search_items and zotero_get_collection_items browse existing papers to avoid duplicates
Key Configuration
- Literature search scope: Papers from the last 3 years by default, configurable
- Output format: Markdown format for easy editing and version control
- Citation management: Generates references in BibTeX format
- Zotero collection naming:
Research-{topic}-{YYYY} format - PDF auto-attach: Enabled by default for open-access papers via Unpaywall
Additional Resources
Reference Files
Detailed methodology guides, loaded on demand:
references/5w1h-framework.md - 5W1H Framework Guide- What, Why, Who, When, Where, How — six dimensions
- Systematic approach to brainstorming research ideas
- Integration with superpowers:brainstorming
- Usage examples and best practices
references/literature-search-strategies.md - Literature Search Strategies- Keyword construction techniques
- Academic database selection (arXiv, Google Scholar)
- Search tips and screening criteria
- Paper quality evaluation methods
- DOI extraction and Zotero auto-import workflow
references/zotero-integration-guide.md - Zotero MCP Integration Guide- Available Zotero MCP tools (browse, add, cite)
- Collection organization strategy and naming conventions
- Automated workflow: WebSearch → DOI → Zotero import → PDF attach
- Full-text reading and structured note-taking
- Common issues and troubleshooting
references/gap-analysis-guide.md - Gap Analysis Guide- 5 types of Gap Analysis (literature, methodological, application, interdisciplinary, temporal)
- 5 analysis dimensions
- Systematic approach to identifying research opportunities
- Usage examples and best practices
references/research-question-formulation.md - Research Question Formulation- Applying SMART principles
- Question type classification (exploratory, confirmatory, applied)
- Evaluation criteria (importance, novelty, feasibility)
- Defining research objectives and contributions
references/research-contract.md - Research Contract- Research Question Card template
- Evidence Record template
- Claim Candidate template
- Claim strength rules
references/method-selection-guide.md - Method Selection Guide- Common research method classification
- Method applicability analysis
- Strengths and weaknesses comparison
- Resource requirement assessment
references/research-planning.md - Research Planning- Timeline planning methods
- Milestone definition techniques
- Risk identification and mitigation
- Resource allocation strategies
Example Files
Complete working examples:
examples/example-literature-review.md - Literature Review Example- Demonstrates structured literature review format
- Includes research trend analysis and gap identification
examples/example-research-proposal.md - Research Proposal Example- Demonstrates complete research proposal structure
- Includes complete examples of question, method, and plan