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Positions an ASR manuscript as a broad sociological contribution by framing the debate across subfields, naming the precise gap, and engaging the strongest rival account.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/asr-skills:asr-literature-positioningThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
An ASR paper has to convince sociologists beyond its niche that the contribution matters. Positioning
An ASR paper has to convince sociologists beyond its niche that the contribution matters. Positioning places the paper in a sociological debate — about inequality, culture, institutions, mechanisms — that a general reader recognizes, and shows precisely what the paper changes.
asr-research-design).| If your paper is… | also engage… |
|---|---|
| an ethnographic case | the general theory of the mechanism it reveals |
| a demographic trend | the substantive sociology the trend bears on (family, work, inequality) |
| comparative-historical | the general causal/processual theory, not only area studies |
| a network/computational study | the substantive literature your structure or method speaks to |
ASR editors screen for fit before sending a paper out; as the ASA's general flagship they decline work that reads as a subfield note no matter how clean. These positioning failures most often draw an early decline.
| Pattern | Why it stalls at ASR | The positioning fix |
|---|---|---|
| "First study of X in setting Y" | descriptive, not disciplinary | frame the general mechanism the setting illuminates |
| Citations from one subfield only | reads as a specialty paper | add the cross-subfield debate it speaks to |
| Gap stated as "little is known" | no live disagreement | name what is contested or under-theorized |
| Closest competitor uncited | reads as evasion | engage the nearest rival; state the difference |
An ethnographer studies how gig-platform drivers contest algorithmic management.
Weak frame: "First ethnography of driver resistance on Platform Z" → subfield note, likely declined
Strong frame: enters the general debate on control and consent in the labor process; shows
algorithmic management reproduces an older managerial logic through new infrastructure
Move: "Prior work treats algorithmic control as a rupture; the case shows continuity with
conditions C1–C3" → a portable, contestable claim
The same fieldwork goes from a platform case study to a contribution another subfield can use.
asr-submission)【Debate】the live sociological disagreement / open question
【Key works】the 3-6 that define it (incl. cross-subfield)
【Gap】what is contested / under-theorized / mismeasured
【Move】how this paper changes the debate
【Strongest rival】and how the design will adjudicate it
【Next】asr-theory-building
../../resources/official-source-map.md — ASR scope and contribution expectationsnpx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin asr-skillsMaps a manuscript's positioning within current sociological debates for AJS submission. Helps frame the literature section to signal engagement with live theoretical tensions rather than filling gaps.
Positions a Social Forces manuscript against the literature for a general social-science audience. Emphasizes sharp, economical engagement with debates given the 10,000-word cap.
Positions an APSR manuscript against the literature to avoid desk rejection for failing to engage relevant work. Helps frame the contribution for a discipline-wide audience.