psychbull-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether a question is review-worthy and meta-analyzable for Psychological Bulletin and which synthesis type fits (meta-analysis, systematic review, meta-review/meta-synthesis, qualitative review). Tests fit for an APA research-synthesis flagship; it does not write the review.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill psychbull-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 & Synthesis Fit (psychbull-topic-selection) Psychological Bulletin publishes **syntheses of research in scientific psychology**, not original studies. The first question is therefore not "is my result interesting?" but **"is there a body of existing studies worth synthesizing, and what synthesis does it support?"** This skill tests fit and chooses the synthesis type; it does not draft content. ## When to trigger - You have an idea for a review/meta-analysis and want to know if it fits Psychological Bulletin - Deciding between a meta-analysis, a systematic review, or a qualitative review - Worried the topic is too narrow, already reviewed, or actually a primary study in disguise ## Fit test for Psychological Bulletin 1. **It synthesizes existing research.** The contribution is integrating *prior* studies, not reporting new data (primary studies → other journals) and not pure theory (→ *Psychological Review*). 2. **There is a sufficient, locatable literature.** Enough comparable studies exist that a systematic search can plausibly recover them; a handful of papers is a narrative essay, not a Bulletin review. 3. **General psychological significance.** The question ma
- When to trigger
- Fit test for Psychological Bulletin
- Choosing the synthesis type
- Scoping the question
- Anti-patterns
- Fit screening as a referee would apply it
- Worked vignette — testing a candidate topic
- Referee pushback → venue-specific fix
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the psychbull-topic-selection skill do?
Use when deciding whether a question is review-worthy and meta-analyzable for Psychological Bulletin and which synthesis type fits (meta-analysis, systematic review, meta-review/meta-synthesis, qualitative review). Tests fit for an APA research-synthesis flagship; it does not write the review.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill psychbull-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.