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research-ideation

research ideation

galaxy-dawn/claude-scholar172installs4.2KstarsData science

SKILL.md

Full skill instructions

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:

  1. Starting a new research project - Have research interests but no clear research question yet
  2. Literature review - Need to systematically understand a research field
  3. Research question formulation - Need to transform vague ideas into specific research questions
  4. Method selection - Need to choose appropriate research methods and technical approaches
  5. 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