asr-workflow

ASR Workflow Router (asr-workflow)

The orchestrator for an ASR submission. ASR publishes across all of sociology and across very different methods, so the router's first job is to confirm the work has broad sociological significance and to send the user to the matching skill for their stage and method.

When to trigger

• Starting a new ASR paper and unsure where to begin
• Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
• Deciding between a full Article and a Comment/Reply
• Returning with a decision letter (route to asr-rebuttal)

First question: manuscript type & method

Situation	Type	Note
Full original study, broad significance	Article (≤ 15,000 words incl. refs + footnotes)	the main pipeline below
Critique of / reply to a published ASR piece	Comment/Reply (≤ 3,000 words)	tight scope; engage the original directly

Then identify the method, because design and analysis advice differ sharply: quantitative/demographic · comparative-historical · ethnographic/interview · network · computational.

Routing map (stage → skill)

Idea / fit?                      → asr-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?  → asr-literature-positioning
What's the argument?             → asr-theory-building
Is the design defensible?        → asr-research-design
Are the analyses sound?          → asr-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear?          → asr-tables-figures
Does it read for the discipline? → asr-writing-style
Data documented / shareable?     → asr-data-and-transparency
How will it be judged?           → asr-review-process
Ready to submit?                 → asr-submission
Got an R&R / decision?           → asr-rebuttal

Default order

topic-selection → literature-positioning → theory-building → research-design → data-analysis → tables-figures → writing-style → data-and-transparency → review-process → submission → rebuttal

Iterate: ethnographic and comparative-historical papers especially loop theory ↔ evidence many times.

Symptom-to-skill dispatch

The router's value is matching a felt problem to the right ASR skill fast. Because the ASA flagship judges breadth of significance and method-appropriate rigor together, most symptoms map cleanly to one sub-skill — use this lookup before defaulting to the linear order.

Symptom you arrive with	Likely root	Route to
"A reader says it's too narrow"	fit / framing	asr-topic-selection
"Reviewer says I missed key work"	cross-subfield positioning	asr-literature-positioning
"It's called merely descriptive"	no portable mechanism	asr-theory-building
"Reviewer doubts the causal/case logic"	design	asr-research-design
"They want more robustness"	analysis	asr-data-analysis
"An exhibit is unclear"	exhibits	asr-tables-figures
"It reads as subfield-only"	prose for the discipline	asr-writing-style
"How could anyone verify this?"	transparency	asr-data-and-transparency
"What will reviewers want?"	expectations	asr-review-process
"Submitting tomorrow"	preflight	asr-submission
"Got an R&R"	response letter	asr-rebuttal

Worked micro-example (illustrative routing)

A user arrives mid-project with a comparative-historical study and a vague worry.

User: "I have four country cases and good archives, but a colleague says it 'won't fly at ASR.'"
Router read: the worry is breadth/portability, not data → start at asr-theory-building (extract the
  portable causal logic), then asr-literature-positioning (general debate), then asr-research-design
  (case-selection + adjudication), looping theory ↔ evidence as comparative-historical work demands.
Type: full study, broad claim → Article (≤15,000 incl. refs + footnotes), not a Comment.
Then: asr-tables-figures (evidence table) → asr-writing-style → asr-data-and-transparency.

The router resists the linear default and sends the comparative-historical case to the theory and positioning skills first, where its fit risk actually lives.

Referee-stage pushback → which skill answers it

• "Not significant for the discipline." → asr-topic-selection then asr-writing-style (front-load stakes).
• "Method isn't rigorous for its kind." → asr-research-design in the matching tradition.
• "Masking is broken." → asr-submission masking sweep before re-upload.

Calibration anchors

• Broad significance is the gate, not a garnish. The flagship's first question is always whether the work reaches the whole discipline; route there whenever fit is in doubt.
• Method sets the path, not just the advice. Ethnographic and comparative-historical papers loop theory and evidence repeatedly; do not force them through a single linear pass.
• Confirm volatile submission specifics (fee, caps) against the journal's current guidelines when the router reaches asr-submission.

Anti-patterns

• Treating ASR like a subfield journal — the contribution must reach the whole discipline
• Forcing a regression template onto ethnographic, historical, or interpretive work
• Padding a focused critique into an Article when a Comment/Reply fits
• Forgetting the $25 processing fee and the masked-manuscript requirement at submission

Output format

【Stage】idea / positioning / theory / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / transparency / review / submit / rebut
【Type】Article / Comment-Reply
【Method】quant / comparative-historical / ethnographic / network / computational
【Route to】asr-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — sociology data + software by method
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official ASR URLs behind every fact in this pack