research-gap-visualizer

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

Purpose

• Map what is known vs. unknown for a research topic and highlight actionable gaps.
• Use constraint hygiene and explicit confidence ceilings to avoid overclaiming coverage.
• Preserve structure-first artifacts (SKILL, README, references, examples).

Trigger Conditions

• Positive: planning literature reviews, prioritizing experiments, or aligning stakeholders on open questions.
• Negative: pure synthesis without visualization (use literature-synthesis) or execution planning (interactive-planner).

Guardrails

• Constraints captured in HARD / SOFT / INFERRED buckets (scope, domains, timelines, exclusion criteria).
• Two-pass refinement: initial gap map → epistemic validation with evidence strength and conflicts.
• Each gap lists required evidence and confidence ceiling for current assessment.

Inputs

• Research question or topic; inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Existing sources and their quality.
• Desired visualization format (table, bullet map, graph description).

Workflow

1. Scope & Constraints: Define boundaries and bucket constraints; confirm INFERRED assumptions.
2. Evidence Inventory: Catalog sources, claims, and confidence ceilings; mark conflicts.
3. Gap Mapping: Identify unaddressed questions, weak evidence areas, and dependencies.
4. Validation Pass: Check coverage vs. constraints; ensure gaps have clear evidence needs and owners.
5. Deliver & Store: Produce gap map plus recommendations; update references/examples.

Validation & Quality Gates

• Gaps trace back to constraints and evidence inventory.
• Conflicts and weaknesses called out with ceilings.
• Recommended next steps/owners attached to each gap.

Response Template

**Scope & Constraints**
- HARD / SOFT / INFERRED.

**Coverage Snapshot**
- What is known (source → confidence).
- Conflicts.

**Gaps**
- Gap → evidence needed → owner/next step → confidence ceiling.

Confidence: 0.78 (ceiling: inference 0.70) - based on current evidence inventory.

Confidence: 0.78 (ceiling: inference 0.70) - reflects validated gap mapping against available evidence.