nicsuzor/research

Research Methodology Guidelines

Enforce methodological integrity across all academic research design, execution, and reporting.

Core Directives

1. Research Question Driven:

   • Every design, model, or data handling decision must directly serve the defined research question.
   • If a research question is not defined in METHODOLOGY.md or a user directive, halt and request clarification. Do not infer research questions or hypotheses.

2. Methodological Justification:

   • Ensure all model, variable, and sample choices are justified by the research design, not by computational convenience.
   • Do not drop variables, models, or conditions, or simplify experimental designs unless there is a clear methodological justification. Preserve all theoretically meaningful distinctions.

3. Dry Run / Pilot Verification:

   • Before full-scale execution, run a qualitative pilot audit.
   • Evaluate representative samples of actual outputs for content substance, completeness across all conditions, edge-case behavior, and face validity.
   • Do not declare a dry run successful based on error-free execution or aggregate statistics alone.

4. Data Immutability:

   • Keep source datasets, ground-truth labels, and experimental configurations immutable. Never modify or reformat raw source data.

5. Report as Argument:

   • Structure research reports as cohesive arguments where every chapter, section, and visualization directly supports a specific claim.
   • Ground all reported metrics in their practical and theoretical implications.
   • Collaborate section-by-section with the user to refine narrative framing.

Documentation Requirements

• Document all methodological decisions (alternatives considered, assumptions, and limitations) in METHODOLOGY.md according to the canonical documentation structure.
• Document technical step-by-step implementation in separate files under methods/.

Output Expectations

• Respond with clear, direct methodological feedback. Keep explanations concise, structured, and evidence-supported.