Research Question Formulation

Refine hypotheses into precise research questions — answering "how do we refine a hypothesis into a precise research question?"

HARD-GATE

<HARD-GATE> Preconditions (all must hold before starting):

1. At least 1 clear hypothesis or research direction has been established
2. The research domain and constraints are known
3. The target audience is clear (academic paper? project report?)

Not satisfied → stop, recommend completing hypothesis-formulation or clarifying the research direction first. </HARD-GATE>

Campaign Goal

Transform a "testable hypothesis" into a "precise research question" — the question must have a clear scope, measurable success criteria, and decomposable sub-questions. The output is a research question that can directly guide experiment design or literature review.

Strategy Selection

| Strategy | When to Use | Core action | |----------|---------|---------| | framework-guided-formulation | Research type is clear, with a corresponding standard framework | Select framework → fill in | | scope-calibration | Question is too broad or too narrow | zoom in/out | | decomposition-formulation | High question complexity, not answerable by a single experiment | Decompose | | comparative-formulation | A comparison of A vs B is needed | Construct the comparison | | feasibility-constrained-formulation | The ideal question exceeds available resources | Pragmatic adjustment |

The CC selects autonomously based on hypothesis characteristics and constraints. A common combination: framework-guided → scope-calibration → decomposition.

Budget Gate

| Tier | Framework assessment | RQ output | FINER check | Sub-questions | |------|---------|---------|-----------|--------------| | S | ≥2 framework comparisons | ≥1 precise RQ | All 5 items pass | Optional | | M | ≥3 framework comparisons | ≥2 precise RQs | All 5 items pass + success criteria | ≥3 sub-questions | | L | ≥4 framework comparisons | ≥3 precise RQs | All 5 items pass + criteria + answering sequence | ≥5 sub-questions + dependency graph |

Research Question Structure (standard output format)

Every RQ must contain:

• Main question: a one-sentence precise statement
• Framework: the framework used and how each component is filled in
• Scope: clear boundaries (what is in scope, what is not)
• Success criteria: what counts as "having answered the question"
• Sub-questions: independently answerable sub-questions (if any)
• FINER assessment: Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, Relevant

Context Management

• Call context-init at the start of the campaign
• Call context-checkpoint after each strategy completes (hard constraint)
• All outputs accumulate in a single campaign-scoped context file

Minimum Yield

Each campaign execution must produce:

1. ≥1 fully framed research question (containing all 6 components)
2. All 5 FINER criteria passed
3. Clear success criteria (measurable)
4. Scope statement (in/out of scope)

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Available Strategies

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| Strategy | When to use | | --- | --- | | comparative-formulation | Strategy: Construct comparative research questions — systematic comparison of A vs B | | decomposition-formulation | Strategy: decompose a complex research question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions | | feasibility-constrained-formulation | Strategy: reshape a research question under resource constraints — pragmatic adjustment that preserves core value | | framework-guided-formulation | Strategy: Select an RQ framework (PICO/SPIDER/SPICE/ECLIPSE) and apply it systematically | | scope-calibration | Strategy: Adjust research question scope — zoom in/out until the scope is appropriate |

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| SOP | When to use | | --- | --- | | context-checkpoint | Append research process and results to the current Phase's context file. Covers both process and results with genuine substance. Use this skill at plan-designated checkpoint points — typically after each strategy completes or at key decision nodes within a research Phase. | | context-init | Create a new context file for a research Phase. Called once at Phase start to initialize the file that subsequent context-checkpoint calls will append to. Use this skill whenever a new research Phase begins and a fresh context file is needed. | | hypothesis-formation-quality-gate-check | Shared SOP: General quality-gate check (format completeness, logical consistency) | | hypothesis-formation-saturation-detection | Shared SOP: judge whether the current activity has reached information saturation | | question-synthesis | SOP: synthesize all intermediate products into a final research-question set |

Available Campaigns

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

| Campaign | When to use | | --- | --- | | hypothesis-formulation | Campaign: transform insights and gaps into structured testable hypotheses |

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