# Research Ideation

Should be used when the user asks to "brainstorm research ideas", "use 5W1H framework"...

- Repository: https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar (5959 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-19
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill research-ideation -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill research-ideation -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill research-ideation -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar --skill research-ideation -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar`

## Description

This skill should be used when the user asks to "brainstorm research ideas", "use 5W1H framework", "identify research gaps", "conduct gap analysis", "start research project", "conduct literature review", "define research question", "select research method", "plan research", or mentions research project initiation phase. Provides comprehensive guidance for research startup workflow from idea generation to planning.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Research Ideation

Supports the complete workflow for the research project initiation phase, from vague idea to a traceable research contract: research question, hypothesis, evidence needs, falsification criteria, method selection, and next action.

## Core Features

### 1. Idea Brainstorming (5W1H Framework)

Systematically brainstorm research ideas using the 5W1H framework:
- **What**: What problem or phenomenon to study
- **Why**: Why this problem is important
- **Who**: Target audience and stakeholders
- **When**: Time scope and context of the research
- **Where**: Application scenarios and domains
- **How**: Preliminary research methodology ideas

**Integration with superpowers:brainstorming**: Can invoke the superpowers:brainstorming skill for interactive brainstorming to help rapidly generate and evaluate research ideas.

### 2. Literature Review

Systematically search, analyze, and synthesize related literature:
- Build effective search keywords
- Search via WebSearch across academic databases (arXiv, Google Scholar, etc.)
- Screen and evaluate paper quality
- Identify research trends and gaps
- Generate structured literature reviews from evidence-labeled sources
- **Zotero Integration**: Papers are automatically added to Zotero via DOI, organized into topic-based collections, and open-access PDFs are auto-attached for full-text reading

### 3. Gap Analysis

Systematically identify and evaluate research gaps:
- **Literature gaps**: Identify topics or questions not yet sufficiently studied
- **Methodological gaps**: Discover limitations and improvement opportunities in existing methods
- **Application gaps**: Identify opportunities for theory-to-practice transfer
- **Interdisciplinary gaps**: Discover research opportunities at the intersection of different fields
- **Temporal gaps**: Identify new research needs arising from changes over time

The rest: https://github.com/Galaxy-Dawn/claude-scholar/blob/HEAD/skills/research-ideation/SKILL.md