apsr-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether a political-science project fits the American Political Science Review (APSR) and which of its five tracks to target. APSR is the discipline's generalist flagship, so the test is general significance across subfields, not subfield novelty alone. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill apsr-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 & Fit (apsr-topic-selection) APSR is the **general-interest flagship** of political science. The bar is not "new to my subfield" — it is **"matters to the discipline."** Use this skill to pressure-test fit before you invest. ## When to trigger - Choosing among possible projects or framings for an APSR submission - A reviewer/colleague said the paper feels "too narrow" or "subfield-only" - Deciding between a **Regular Article** and a **Research Note** - Considering **Registered Reports** (prospective design) or **Replications and Reappraisals** ## The APSR fit test A strong APSR paper usually clears all four: 1. **General significance.** A scholar in a *different* subfield (e.g., a comparativist reading an Americanist paper) should see why it matters. State the stakes for politics broadly — power, institutions, behavior, representation, conflict, justice. 2. **A real contribution, not just a finding.** It changes how the field thinks, measures, or argues — a new theory, a decisive test, a reconceptualization, a corrected record. 3. **Credible on its own methodological terms.** Quantitative, qualitative, formal, experimental, or interpretive — each is welcome, but e
- When to trigger
- The APSR fit test
- Subfield framing (write past your home subfield)
- Track choice
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the apsr-topic-selection skill do?
Use when deciding whether a political-science project fits the American Political Science Review (APSR) and which of its five tracks to target. APSR is the discipline's generalist flagship, so the test is general significance across subfields, not subfield novelty alone. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill apsr-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.