pubar-theory-building
Use when building the theoretical argument of a Public Administration Review (PAR) manuscript into a contribution that advances public-management theory and informs practice. PAR rewards a clear, portable mechanism with explicit scope conditions plus a defensible practitioner "so-what." Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill pubar-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 (pubar-theory-building) At PAR a result is not a contribution until it is attached to an **argument public-management scholars can use elsewhere** *and* a **practical implication a manager can act on.** This skill turns findings into theory: explicit mechanisms, scope conditions, and observable implications — in the idiom of public administration, where context (institutions, law, political control, public values) is central. ## When to trigger - The empirics are strong but the "so what / why" is thin - A reviewer said the paper is "atheoretical," "ad hoc," or "just a program description" - You need to state mechanisms, assumptions, and scope conditions explicitly - A **Conceptualizing Public Administration** thought piece (theory is the whole contribution) ## Build the argument (by mode of work) ### Empirical paper with a theory 1. **Concept** — define the key constructs precisely (e.g., red tape, goal ambiguity, PSM, network integration); distinguish from neighbors and from informal usage. 2. **Mechanism** — the behavioral/organizational story: which actor (bureaucrat, manager, citizen, politician) does what, under which incentives, constraints, and p
- When to trigger
- Build the argument (by mode of work)
- Empirical paper with a theory
- Conceptual / theory piece (Conceptualizing PA)
- The dual test (PAR-specific)
- The "Evidence for Practice" box (a PAR signature requirement)
- Position within PAR's live theory conversations
- Anti-patterns
- Worked micro-example (before → after)
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the pubar-theory-building skill do?
Use when building the theoretical argument of a Public Administration Review (PAR) manuscript into a contribution that advances public-management theory and informs practice. PAR rewards a clear, portable mechanism with explicit scope conditions plus a defensible practitioner "so-what." Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill pubar-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.