Research Topic

Conduct web research on a philosophical topic and produce structured research notes.

When to Use

• Before writing a new article
• When a todo item is type research-topic
• When /research-topic [topic] is invoked
• Monthly gap research

Instructions

1. Clarify the Topic

If a specific topic is provided, use it directly.

If invoked from todo.md, extract the topic from the task description.

2. Web Research

Use WebSearch to find:

Primary Academic Sources

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu)
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (iep.utm.edu)
• PhilPapers (philpapers.org)

Key Thinkers

• Who are the major philosophers on this topic?
• What are their main positions?
• What are the key debates?

Historical Context

• How has thinking evolved on this topic?
• What are the major milestones?

Scientific Connections

• What relevant scientific research exists?
• How do empirical findings inform the philosophy?

Contemporary Discussions

• What are current debates?
• Are there recent developments?

3. Evaluate Sources Against Tenets

For each major position found, note:

• Does it align with site tenets?
• Does it conflict with any tenet?
• How would site tenets respond to this view?

4. Generate Research Notes

Create notes at obsidian/research/[TOPIC-SLUG]-YYYY-MM-DD.md:

---
title: Research Notes - [Topic]
created: YYYY-MM-DD
draft: false
ai_contribution: 100
ai_system: [current model]
---

# Research: [Topic]

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Search queries used**: [list]

## Executive Summary

[3-5 sentence overview of what was found]

## Key Sources

### [Source Title]
- **URL**: [url]
- **Type**: Encyclopedia/Paper/Book/Article
- **Key points**:
  - Point 1
  - Point 2
- **Tenet alignment**: Aligns/Conflicts/Neutral with [tenet]
- **Quote**: "[notable quote]"

## Major Positions

### [Position Name] (e.g., "Physicalism")
- **Proponents**: [names]
- **Core claim**: [summary]
- **Key arguments**: [list]
- **Relation to site tenets**: [analysis]

### [Position Name] (e.g., "Property Dualism")
[Similar format]

## Key Debates

### [Debate Title]
- **Sides**: [who argues what]
- **Core disagreement**: [what they disagree about]
- **Current state**: [resolved? ongoing?]

## Historical Timeline

| Year | Event/Publication | Significance |
|------|-------------------|--------------|
| YYYY | [event] | [why it matters] |

## Potential Article Angles

Based on this research, an article could:
1. [Angle 1 - how it would align with tenets]
2. [Angle 2 - alternative approach]

When writing the article, follow `obsidian/project/writing-style.md` for:
- Named-anchor summary technique for forward references
- Background vs. novelty decisions (what to include/omit)
- Tenet alignment requirements
- LLM optimization (front-load important information)

## Gaps in Research

- [What couldn't be found]
- [What needs deeper investigation]

## Citations

[Full citation list in consistent format]

5. Update Todo

If this was a todo item, mark it complete and note the output file.

6. Log to Changelog

Append summary to obsidian/workflow/changelog.md.

Important

• This skill ONLY produces research notes
• Does NOT generate article content
• Use /expand-topic to write articles based on research
• Always cite sources with URLs
• Be honest about tenet conflicts - don't hide opposing views
• Note where research is incomplete