# Scientific Critical Thinking

Evaluate scientific claims and evidence quality.

- Repository: https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer (2545 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: MIT license
- Last updated: 2026-10-31
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer --skill scientific-critical-thinking -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer --skill scientific-critical-thinking -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer --skill scientific-critical-thinking -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer --skill scientific-critical-thinking -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer`

## Description

Evaluate scientific claims and evidence quality. Use for assessing experimental design validity, identifying biases and confounders, applying evidence grading frameworks (GRADE, Cochrane Risk of Bias), or teaching critical analysis. Best for understanding evidence quality, identifying flaws. For formal peer review writing use peer-review.

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

# Scientific Critical Thinking

## Overview

Critical thinking is a systematic process for evaluating scientific rigor. Assess methodology, experimental design, statistical validity, biases, confounding, and evidence quality using GRADE and Cochrane ROB frameworks. Apply this skill for critical analysis of scientific claims.

## When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:
- Evaluating research methodology and experimental design
- Assessing statistical validity and evidence quality
- Identifying biases and confounding in studies
- Reviewing scientific claims and conclusions
- Conducting systematic reviews or meta-analyses
- Applying GRADE or Cochrane risk of bias assessments
- Providing critical analysis of research papers

## Visual Aids (Optional)

Only add figures when the **user explicitly requests** a diagram (for example, a GRADE flowchart, bias decision tree, or evidence-quality framework).

**When figures help:**
- Critical thinking framework diagrams
- Bias identification decision trees
- Evidence quality assessment flowcharts
- GRADE or risk-of-bias evaluation frameworks

**How to create figures:**
- **Preferred:** Use the **scientific-schematics** skill for AI-generated diagrams from a natural-language description
- **Alternative:** Build figures in your usual tools (draw.io, PowerPoint, matplotlib, etc.)

Run from the repository root, with `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` set:

```bash
python skills/scientific-schematics/scripts/generate_schematic.py "GRADE evidence assessment flowchart with downgrade and upgrade factors" -o figures/grade_flowchart.png --doc-type report
```

**Disclosure:** AI schematic generation sends your prompt to [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/) (a third-party API). Do not include unpublished sensitive details unless that transmission is appropriate for your project.

---

## Core Capabilities

The rest: https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/claude-scientific-writer/blob/HEAD/.claude/skills/scientific-critical-thinking/SKILL.md