Research Strategy Skill
When to Activate
Activate this skill when:
- Researching technology options
- Evaluating libraries or frameworks
- Investigating best practices
- Analyzing security concerns
- Making architectural decisions
- Performing codebase analysis
Core Principles
- Research and report, don't implement
- Multiple sources beat single sources
- Document confidence levels for all findings
- Acknowledge knowledge gaps openly
- Present alternatives objectively
7-Step Research Methodology
- Define Research Questions - What exactly needs answering?
- Identify Information Sources - Where to look?
- Gather Raw Information - Collect systematically
- Cross-Reference Findings - Verify across sources
- Validate Accuracy - Check dates, authority, consensus
- Identify Gaps - What's still unknown?
- Synthesize Insights - Connect into actionable knowledge
Source Prioritization
- Primary Sources (Highest priority)
- Official documentation - Technical specifications - API references
- Authoritative Sources
- Well-maintained libraries - Industry standards (OWASP, NIST) - Academic papers
- Community Sources
- Stack Overflow discussions - GitHub issues/PRs - Technical blogs
- Experimental Sources (Use with caution)
- Beta features - Draft proposals
Confidence Scoring
Assign to ALL findings:
| Level | Range | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH | 90-100% | Multiple authoritative sources agree, widely adopted |
| MEDIUM | 60-89% | Good documentation, some adoption, minor disagreements |
| LOW | 30-59% | Limited sources, conflicting information |
| SPECULATIVE | <30% | Educated guess, no direct sources |
Research Report Structure
# Research Report: [Topic]
## Executive Summary
[2-3 paragraphs: key findings, recommendation, confidence]
## Research Questions
1. [Question 1]
2. [Question 2]
## Key Findings
### Finding 1: [Title]
**Confidence**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
**Sources**: [List with links]
[Detailed explanation]
**Implications**: [How this affects decisions]
## Comparative Analysis
| Aspect | Option A | Option B |
|--------|----------|----------|
| Performance | Details | Details |
| Learning Curve | Details | Details |
## Best Practices
1. **[Practice]**: Why, Source, Adoption level
## Risks and Concerns
- **Risk**: Severity, Likelihood, Mitigation
## Knowledge Gaps
- **Gap**: Impact, How to address
## Recommendations
[Clear, actionable recommendations with confidence levels]Library/Framework Research Template
## Overview
- Purpose: [One sentence]
- Maturity: Stable/Beta/Experimental
- Last commit: [Date]
- License: [Type]
## Technical Assessment
- Performance: [Benchmarks]
- Bundle Size: [KB]
- Dependencies: [Count, quality]
## Developer Experience
- Documentation: Excellent/Good/Fair/Poor
- TypeScript: Built-in/DefinitelyTyped/None
- Learning Curve: Steep/Moderate/Gentle
## Verdict
**Recommendation**: Use/Don't Use/Conditional
**Confidence**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW
**When to Use**: [Scenarios]
**When to Avoid**: [Scenarios]Analysis Framework
For each topic, answer:
Current State
- What exists today?
- What patterns are established?
Best Practices
- What do experts recommend?
- What anti-patterns to avoid?
Trade-offs
- What are alternatives?
- Pros/cons of each option?
Risks
- What could go wrong?
- Common pitfalls?
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
❌ Single Source Syndrome
- "According to this one article..."
- ✅ "Multiple sources agree (A, B, C)..."
❌ Premature Implementation
- "Here's the code..."
- ✅ "Implementation would follow this approach..."
❌ Missing Confidence Levels
- "This is the way."
- ✅ "HIGH confidence: Recommended by [sources]..."
❌ Outdated Information
- Using 2020 practices without checking updates
- ✅ Verify current practices, note recent changes
Research Quality Checklist
Completeness
- All questions answered
- Multiple sources consulted (minimum 2-3)
- Advantages AND disadvantages investigated
- Edge cases considered
Accuracy
- Sources are authoritative and current
- Publication dates checked
- Conflicting info acknowledged
- Assumptions stated
Actionability
- Findings translate to next steps
- Risks quantified
- Alternatives provided
- Decision criteria clear
Related Resources
See AgentUsage/research_workflow.md for complete documentation including:
- Security research template
- Detailed report examples
- Research mission template
- Quality checklists