From communication-research-skills
Defends the research design of quantitative Communication Research manuscripts, covering experiments, panel surveys, and content analysis with intercoder reliability.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/communication-research-skills:commres-research-designThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
CR is a **quantitative** journal and demanding about each design. The design must credibly connect the
CR is a quantitative journal and demanding about each design. The design must credibly connect the
hypotheses (commres-theory-building) to evidence and defeat the strongest rival explanation. This
skill is mode-aware — pick the section that matches your study and defend it on social-science terms.
commres-literature-positioningFor the single strongest rival explanation, write one sentence: "If the rival were true rather than my hypothesis, the data would look like ___; instead they look like ___." If you cannot, the design does not yet identify the contribution.
| Reviewer objection | Why it lands at CR | Design-stage fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Single-message confound" | one stimulus cannot separate the message feature from the text | sample multiple messages per condition; model message as a random factor |
| "Measurement validity unclear" | a scale or coded category may not be the construct | report CFA / construct validity, not just reliability |
| "Common-method variance" | same-survey predictor and outcome inflate the path | procedural separation + a statistical CMV check |
| "Cross-sectional process claim" | mediation on one wave cannot license a causal story | move to an experiment/panel, or hedge the claim |
| "Effect without mechanism" | a main effect alone does not advance theory | measure and pre-specify the mediator/moderator before collection |
A study claims gain- vs. loss-framed vaccine messages change intention via perceived response-efficacy, moderated by prior knowledge. A CR-defensible design: 2 (frame) × 3 (message exemplars per frame) factorial so the frame effect is estimated across six texts — defeating the single-message confound. Validated multi-item efficacy and intention scales (report alpha + a CFA), target N sized to the registered MDE, preregister the moderated-mediation model (frame → response-efficacy → intention, moderated by knowledge) with bootstrap CIs, plus an attention check. The adjudication sentence: if "any health message moves intention" were true, the gain/loss contrast would be null while overall intention rose; instead the contrast runs through efficacy and only for low-knowledge audiences — advancing framing theory rather than re-documenting persuasion.
【Mode】experiment / survey-panel / content-analysis / computational
【Estimand or claim】what is being identified/tested
【Key assumption(s)】and how each is defended (incl. reliability/validity, CMV)
【Rival ruled out】the adjudication sentence
【Mediation/moderation】design supports the causal ordering? [Y/N]
【Robustness/sensitivity】planned checks
【Next】commres-data-analysis
../../resources/external_tools.md — design, reliability, SEM, and text-as-data packages../../resources/official-source-map.md — preregistration and APA reporting notesnpx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin communication-research-skillsStrengthens the research design of a Journal of Communication (JoC) manuscript across experimental, survey, content analysis, computational, and qualitative traditions.
Defends the research design of Social Psychology Quarterly manuscripts across experimental, survey, and observational traditions, focusing on the structure–individual link.
Defends research design for APSR manuscripts: causal identification, case selection, process tracing, experimental design, and formal-empirical linkage.