Sweeping Monk: Research and Academic Troubleshooting

The problem

In research and academic work, the bottleneck is often not tools but a poorly framed method: whether a topic is worth pursuing, whether constructs are operationalized, whether a paper’s argument has gaps, how to respond to reviewer comments, and whether a proposal is defensible. Treating surface symptoms as root causes leads to weak fixes.

How it works

The skill follows a methodology-first workflow. It diagnoses the root issue before selecting a method. Key capabilities include:
- Topic and argument diagnosis: checks importance, feasibility, innovation, constructs, validity threats, and statistical misuse.
- Paper and literature breakdown: uses comparison matrices to locate contributions, method boundaries, and transferable ideas.
- Academic writing support: works through structure, contribution framing, logical flow, and review-writing direction.
- Calibrated reasoning: models reasoning, provides light scaffolding, and asks the user to articulate and reflect on their own judgment.
Responses mark confidence levels, separating established norms, data-dependent judgments, and contested areas.

Boundaries

By default, it provides research strategy, method interpretation, and writing organization. It does not perform literature search, citation verification, or ghostwriting. Legal, medical, financial, and other professional conclusions should go to qualified experts; serious psychological distress should be referred to professional resources.