amr-topic-selection
Use when the theoretical puzzle is the bottleneck for an Academy of Management Review (AMR) manuscript — deciding whether an idea is theory-worthy and AMR-fit before any theorizing begins. Frames the puzzle; it does NOT build constructs (that is amr-theory-development) or design any empirical study (AMR has none).
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill amr-topic-selection --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.
# Topic Selection: Is There a Theoretical Puzzle? (amr-topic-selection) ## When to trigger - You have an interesting phenomenon, trend, or anomaly but no theory yet - You are unsure whether the idea is "big enough" for AMR - The idea feels like a study you'd *run* rather than a theory you'd *build* - You can describe what happens but not *why existing theory fails to explain it* ## The AMR fit test AMR wants a **theoretical puzzle**, not a topic. A topic is "leadership and remote work." A puzzle is "existing leadership theory predicts X, yet under condition C we should see not-X — and no current theory resolves the contradiction." Run every idea through: 1. **Is it conceptual?** AMR publishes no data. If the natural next step is "collect a sample," stop — that is AMJ/ASQ/SMJ. AMR builds the theory those journals later test. 2. **Is there a genuine puzzle / tension / contradiction?** A gap ("no one has studied Z") is NOT a puzzle. A puzzle is a place where current theory is internally inconsistent, incomplete in a specific way, or makes a prediction that fails. 3. **Whose theory is at stake?** Name the existing theory you will challenge and extend. If you cannot, route to `amr-liter
- When to trigger
- The AMR fit test
- Sources of a strong AMR puzzle
- From phenomenon to puzzle (worksheet)
- Checklist
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
What does the amr-topic-selection skill do?
Use when the theoretical puzzle is the bottleneck for an Academy of Management Review (AMR) manuscript — deciding whether an idea is theory-worthy and AMR-fit before any theorizing begins. Frames the puzzle; it does NOT build constructs (that is amr-theory-development) or design any empirical study (AMR has none).
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill amr-topic-selection --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.