Researchstack Idea Refine

Skill File

Researchstack Idea Refine

Guided idea-refinement skill for research projects that are interesting but not yet submission-ready. Use when Codex should improve a paper idea through structured questioning, narrowing, hypothesis building, contribution shaping, and experimental reframing instead of only approving or rejecting it.

lqf06242 starsApr 13, 2026

Occupation
Categories: Knowledge Base

Skill Content

Idea Refine

Read ../references/workflow.md.

Use guided refinement, not free-form brainstorming. Move the project through these checkpoints:

Replace broad ambition with a specific thesis.
Turn the thesis into 2-4 falsifiable hypotheses.
Separate core contribution from implementation support.
Define the minimum believable experiment set.
Decide what to cut.

When improving an idea, choose one or more reframing moves:

Narrow the scope to a single claim the evidence can support.
Strengthen the mechanism so the contribution is not only "we tuned harder."
Recast the contribution as insight, interface, or analysis if full system novelty is weak.
Add a sharper setting or workload where the idea matters most.
Convert a vague optimization claim into a principled tradeoff story.