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]
recommended_action: article   # article | fold | refine | none — see "Declare the verdict" below
target_section: topics        # topics | concepts | voids (used when recommended_action is article)
target_slug: [kebab-slug]     # the article's slug; must be free in that section (check_slug)
---

# 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]

Declare the verdict (frontmatter)

The three frontmatter fields above are read by code: after this skill returns, cycle_post.py (tools/research/chain.py) mints a P2 expand-topic task for the note when recommended_action is article. Set them deliberately:

• article — the subject deserves a standalone page. Give target_section and a free target_slug (uv run python scripts/check_slug.py <slug> <section>).
• fold — the material belongs inside an existing article; refine — the note mainly corrects existing pages; none — not worth a page. These mint nothing, so say in the note which pages should absorb it.

Do not add the expand-topic task to todo.md yourself; the chain does it (and skips notes a todo task already references). Put every guard the article writer must respect (author stances, quote status, coiner/populariser warnings, integration passages) in the note itself, because the minted task points the writer at the note.

5. Do Not Mark Todo Complete

Leave the originating todo task untouched. The orchestrator (cycle_post.py) marks it complete after this skill returns.

6. Log to Changelog

Prepend entry to obsidian/workflow/changelog.md (add immediately after frontmatter, before existing entries):

## [current time from prompt] - research-topic
- **Status**: Success
- **Topic**: [topic name]
- **Output**: [[filepath without .md extension]]
- **Sources consulted**: [count]

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