research-methodology

name	research-methodology
description	Structured research methodology for finding documentation, investigating APIs, and synthesizing technical information. Guides systematic research with source verification and organized output. Activate for: research, documentation lookup, investigate, explore concepts.

Research Methodology Skill

Goal

Guide systematic research with structured output. Find, verify, and synthesize technical information into actionable research briefs.

Activation Triggers

This skill should be activated when:

• User includes research: or @researcher in their prompt
• Task requires finding external documentation or best practices
• User needs to investigate APIs, libraries, or technical concepts
• Comparative analysis of approaches is needed

When NOT to Use

• User wants code written (use implementation instead)
• Simple questions answerable from local codebase
• Bug fixes or debugging (use debug-assistant)

Research Process

1. Understand the Need

Clarify what specific information is being sought:

• API documentation?
• Implementation examples?
• Best practices or patterns?
• Troubleshooting guidance?
• Competitive/alternative analysis?

2. Search Strategically

Prioritize sources by reliability:

1. Official documentation
2. Code examples from reputable repositories
3. Technical blogs from known experts
4. Community discussions (StackOverflow, GitHub Issues)
5. General web results (verify carefully)

3. Verify Quality

For every finding:

• Check the publication date (recent is usually better for tech)
• Cross-reference with at least one other source
• Prefer sources with code examples over theory-only
• Note any version-specific caveats

4. Synthesize Clearly

Don't dump raw search results. Organize findings into:

• Key concepts explained simply
• Relevant code snippets (tested if possible)
• Gotchas and common mistakes
• Links for deeper reading

Output Format: Research Brief

## Research Brief: [Topic]

### Summary
[2-3 sentence overview of findings]

### Key Findings

#### 1. [Finding Title]
[Explanation with context]

**Code Example:**
```[language]
[relevant code]

2. [Finding Title]

[Explanation]

Gotchas & Common Mistakes

• [Mistake 1]: [How to avoid]
• [Mistake 2]: [How to avoid]

Recommendations

Based on research, the recommended approach is: [Specific recommendation with rationale]

Sources

• [URL 1]: [What it provided]
• [URL 2]: [What it provided]

Open Questions

• [Questions that need further research or user input]

## Guidelines

- **Be thorough but focused**: Answer the question, don't go on tangents
- **Cite your sources**: Always link to where you found information
- **Admit uncertainty**: If you can't find reliable info, say so
- **Think about the next step**: What will be needed for design or implementation?
- **Prefer examples**: Concrete examples are more useful than abstract explanations