thesis-advisor

name

thesis-advisor

description

A thesis writing support full pipeline. An agent team collaborates to perform topic selection, literature review, methodology design, writing, and proofreading. Use this skill for requests like 'help with my thesis', 'find a research topic', 'literature review', 'methodology design', 'write my thesis', 'proofread my thesis', 'dissertation', 'journal submission', 'research design', and other academic thesis writing needs. Existing manuscripts or reference lists can augment the relevant phase. However, actual data collection/analysis execution, statistical software operation, and journal submission system operation are outside the scope of this skill.

Thesis Advisor — Thesis Writing Support Full Pipeline

An agent team collaborates to perform topic selection, literature review, methodology design, writing, and proofreading.

Execution Mode

Agent Team — 5 agents communicate directly via SendMessage and cross-verify each other's work.

Agent Roster

Agent	File	Role	Type
topic-explorer	.claude/agents/topic-explorer.md	Topic exploration, research question formulation	general-purpose
literature-analyst	.claude/agents/literature-analyst.md	Literature survey, critical review	general-purpose
methodology-expert	.claude/agents/methodology-expert.md	Research design, analysis method selection	general-purpose
writing-coach	.claude/agents/writing-coach.md	Thesis structure design, draft writing	general-purpose
proofreader	.claude/agents/proofreader.md	Proofreading, format verification, consistency review	general-purpose

Workflow

Phase 1: Preparation (Orchestrator performs directly)

1. Extract from user input:
   • Discipline: Major and sub-field
   • Thesis type: Master's / Doctoral / Journal article / Undergraduate thesis
   • Topic of interest (optional): Specific topic or keywords
   • Advisor's research area (optional): Lab research direction
   • Existing materials (optional): Existing manuscripts, reference lists, data
   • Deadline (optional): Submission date
2. Create a _workspace/ directory at the project root
3. Organize the input and save it to _workspace/00_input.md
4. If existing materials are provided, copy them to _workspace/ and adjust the relevant phase
5. Determine the execution mode based on the scope of the request

Phase 2: Team Assembly and Execution

Order	Task	Agent	Depends On	Deliverable
1	Topic exploration	topic-explorer	None	_workspace/01_topic_proposal.md
2	Literature review	literature-analyst	Task 1	_workspace/02_literature_review.md
3	Methodology design	methodology-expert	Tasks 1, 2	_workspace/03_methodology_design.md
4	Draft writing	writing-coach	Tasks 1, 2, 3	_workspace/04_draft_manuscript.md
5	Proofreading	proofreader	Task 4	_workspace/05_proofread_report.md

Inter-agent communication flow:

• topic-explorer completes -> sends research questions and keywords to literature-analyst; sends hypotheses and variables to methodology-expert
• literature-analyst completes -> sends methodology trends from prior studies to methodology-expert; sends literature review content to writing-coach
• methodology-expert completes -> sends full methodology design to writing-coach
• writing-coach completes -> sends completed draft to proofreader
• proofreader completes -> on critical findings, requests corrections from the relevant agent (max 2 rounds)

Phase 3: Integration and Final Report

1. Verify all files in _workspace/
2. Confirm that all critical proofreading items have been addressed
3. Report the final summary to the user

Task-Scale Modes

User Request Pattern	Execution Mode	Agents Deployed
"Thesis from start to finish", "full support"	Full Pipeline	All 5 agents
"Help me find a research topic"	Topic Exploration Mode	topic-explorer only
"Do a literature review"	Literature Review Mode	topic-explorer + literature-analyst
"Design my methodology"	Methodology Mode	methodology-expert only (uses existing RQ)
"Write my thesis", "draft writing"	Writing Mode	writing-coach + proofreader
"Proofread my thesis" (existing manuscript)	Proofreading Mode	proofreader only

Existing material usage: If the user provides existing manuscripts, reference lists, etc., skip or augment the relevant phase.

Data Transfer Protocol

Strategy	Method	Purpose
File-based	_workspace/ directory	Store and share major deliverables
Message-based	SendMessage	Real-time key information exchange, revision requests
Task-based	TaskCreate/TaskUpdate	Track progress

File naming convention: {order}_{agent}_{deliverable}.{extension}

Error Handling

Error Type	Strategy
Academic DB search failure	Substitute with web search; note "search limited" in report
Cannot determine field	Ask user narrowing questions; infer from interests
Existing manuscript format unclear	Apply standard dissertation format
Agent failure	Retry once -> proceed without that deliverable if still failing
Critical finding in proofreading	Request correction from relevant agent -> re-verify (max 2 rounds)

Test Scenarios

Normal Flow

Prompt: "I want to write an education master's thesis. I'm interested in the impact of flipped learning on learning motivation." Expected Results:

• Topic proposal: Discover research gap in flipped learning x motivation, 3-5 RQs, candidate topic comparison
• Literature review: 20+ prior studies on flipped learning and motivation, theoretical framework
• Methodology: Quasi-experimental design or survey, sample/instruments/analysis methods
• Draft: Master's thesis structure (6 chapters), Introduction through Methods completed
• Proofreading: Format, style, and consistency verification

Existing File Flow

Prompt: "Proofread this manuscript" + thesis file attached Expected Results:

• Proofreading Mode (proofreader only)
• Grammar, format, and consistency verification report

Error Flow

Prompt: "Recommend a thesis topic; I haven't decided on a field yet" Expected Results:

• Ask questions about interests and strengths to narrow the field, then proceed with topic exploration

Agent Extension Skills

Extension skills that enhance each agent's domain expertise:

Agent	Extension Skill	Role
methodology-expert	research-methodology	Research design matrix, sample size calculation, validity/reliability, analysis method selection
writing-coach, proofreader	academic-writing-style	Per-chapter thesis structure, academic style rules, APA citations, proofreading checklist