ajps-theory-building
Use when building the theoretical argument of an American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) manuscript — whether empirical with explicit mechanisms, formal/game-theoretic, or measurement-driven. AJPS rewards testable theory tightly linked to the empirical strategy, with hypotheses stated before the results. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ajps-theory-building --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Theory & Argument Building (ajps-theory-building) At AJPS the theory exists to **generate testable expectations** that the design and data then adjudicate. The journal's empirical bar means a model or argument earns its place only if it yields **observable, falsifiable implications** that the analysis can confront. This skill turns an idea into hypotheses, mechanisms, and scope conditions in the idiom your work demands. ## When to trigger - The empirics are strong but the "why" / mechanism is thin - A reviewer said the paper is "atheoretical," "ad hoc," or "a model with no test" - You need to state mechanisms, assumptions, and scope conditions explicitly - Formal modeling: deciding what to model, what to assume, and what the model buys ## Build the argument (by mode of work) ### Empirical paper with a theory 1. **Concept** — define key constructs precisely; distinguish from neighbors and from how they will be measured (hand off to `ajps-data-analysis` for validation). 2. **Mechanism** — the causal story: who acts, why, under what incentives/constraints. 3. **Hypotheses** — state the **directional, testable** expectations *before* the results, and what pattern would **disconfirm**
- When to trigger
- Build the argument (by mode of work)
- Empirical paper with a theory
- Formal / game-theoretic paper
- Measurement / methodology paper (Research Note territory)
- The "testability" gate (AJPS-specific)
- Anti-patterns
- Operating pass for American Journal of Political Science
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the ajps-theory-building skill do?
Use when building the theoretical argument of an American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) manuscript — whether empirical with explicit mechanisms, formal/game-theoretic, or measurement-driven. AJPS rewards testable theory tightly linked to the empirical strategy, with hypotheses stated before the results. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ajps-theory-building --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.