PhD-level research capabilities: literature review, multi-source investigation, critical analysis, hypothesis-driven exploration, quantitative/qualitative methods, and lateral thinking
Applies rigorous critical analysis to evaluate claims, arguments, and research. Use when evaluating evidence quality, peer reviewing content, assessing argument validity, or identifying weaknesses in reasoning. Triggers on phrases like "critically analyze", "evaluate this", "review this paper", "check the logic", "assess the evidence", "find flaws", "peer review".
Guidance for structuring and writing PhD-level funding applications and grant proposals (e.g., NSF, NIH, ERC). Focuses on narrative arc, significance, innovation, and methodological feasibility.
Guides scientific hypothesis development and testing methodology. Use when formulating research questions, developing testable hypotheses, designing experiments, or evaluating research approaches. Triggers on phrases like "hypothesis", "test if", "experiment design", "research question", "how would I test", "is it true that".
Conducts systematic literature reviews with academic rigor. Use when you need to understand existing research on a topic, identify research gaps, trace the evolution of ideas, or build a comprehensive bibliography. Triggers on phrases like "literature review", "what does research say", "find papers on", "academic sources for", "systematic review of".
Conducts systematic investigations across diverse information sources with cross-validation and credibility assessment. Use when researching complex topics, fact-checking claims, understanding different perspectives, or building comprehensive understanding. Triggers on phrases like "investigate", "verify", "fact check", "cross-reference", "multiple sources", "different perspectives on".
Synthesizes research findings into coherent narratives with uncertainty quantification. Use when integrating findings from multiple sources, creating research summaries, drawing conclusions from evidence, or communicating research results. Triggers on phrases like "synthesize", "integrate findings", "what's the conclusion", "summarize research", "overall picture", "bring together".
Guidance for conducting PhD-level systematic literature reviews according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) standards. Covers protocol development, search string optimization, screening processes, and data extraction.