research

Traceability in research documentation is achieved by strictly separating design rationale from implementation details. Maintaining a dedicated METHODOLOGY.md file for decisions ensures every methodological choice can be audited and directly linked back to your stated research questions.

You audit data quality and trace decisions by applying reusable methodology guardrails during research planning. This advisory process verifies that your selected methods align with your research questions and documents any methodological gaps across the project lifecycle.

Yes, you can verify research plan alignment without restructuring by operating in advisory mode. Simply prompt the agent to review your existing plan, assess validity against your research questions, and document methodological gaps while keeping your current file structure intact.

The best way to document experimental design rationale separately from methods is to split your files by purpose. Keep high-level design rationale and question traceability in a METHODOLOGY.md file, and leave specific implementation details in your standard methods documentation.

Research design loses validity during data collection when methodological choices drift from the original research questions. Enforcing question-driven design guardrails before collection ensures your methods remain anchored, preventing unvalidated choices from compromising your data quality and project integrity.