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

1. Define Research Questions - What exactly needs answering?
2. Identify Information Sources - Where to look?
3. Gather Raw Information - Collect systematically
4. Cross-Reference Findings - Verify across sources
5. Validate Accuracy - Check dates, authority, consensus
6. Identify Gaps - What's still unknown?
7. Synthesize Insights - Connect into actionable knowledge

Source Prioritization

1. Primary Sources (Highest priority)

   • Official documentation
   • Technical specifications
   • API references

2. Authoritative Sources

   • Well-maintained libraries
   • Industry standards (OWASP, NIST)
   • Academic papers

3. Community Sources

   • Stack Overflow discussions
   • GitHub issues/PRs
   • Technical blogs

4. Experimental Sources (Use with caution)

   • Beta features
   • Draft proposals

Confidence Scoring

Assign to ALL findings:

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