prioritization

Prioritization

When to Use This Skill

• When you have multiple hypotheses and need to choose which to test first
• When you're deciding between exploring new areas vs deepening current investigation
• When iteration budget is running low and you need to focus

The Core Question

"What will provide the most scientific insight right now?"

Prioritization Framework

Option 1: Test a Hypothesis

Pick the hypothesis that bears most directly on the research question, can be tested with the data at hand, and would be informative whether the result is positive or negative. Test it first.

Option 2: Explore Data

When to prioritize exploration:

• ✅ Early iterations (< 10% of budget)
• ✅ You're stuck and need fresh ideas
• ✅ Current hypotheses are all low-priority
• ✅ You haven't looked at key variable types yet

When NOT to explore:

• ❌ Late iterations (> 80% of budget)
• ❌ You have high-priority hypotheses ready to test
• ❌ You're avoiding testing a difficult hypothesis

Option 3: Search Literature

When to prioritize literature:

• ✅ Before testing a hypothesis (to inform design)
• ✅ After unexpected result (to understand mechanism)
• ✅ When hypothesis was rejected (to generate alternatives)
• ✅ Early iterations (build knowledge foundation)

When NOT to search:

• ❌ As procrastination (avoiding analysis)
• ❌ Late iterations when you should be synthesizing
• ❌ You already searched this topic

Option 4: Record/Synthesize Findings

When to prioritize synthesis:

• ✅ You've confirmed a finding but haven't recorded it
• ✅ Late iterations (> 70% of budget)
• ✅ You have 3+ findings that might be related
• ✅ You're approaching iteration limit

When NOT to synthesize:

• ❌ Early iterations (too early to connect dots)
• ❌ You only have 1-2 isolated findings
• ❌ High-priority hypotheses remain untested

Decision Tree

START: What should I do next?
│
├─> Do I have unrecorded findings?
│   YES → Record them now
│   NO → Continue
│
├─> Do I have a promising, testable hypothesis?
│   YES → Test highest-scoring hypothesis
│   NO → Continue
│
├─> Is this early in investigation (<20% iterations)?
│   YES → Explore data OR search literature
│   NO → Continue
│
├─> Am I stuck or confused?
│   YES → Search literature for mechanisms
│   NO → Continue
│
├─> Is this late in investigation (>70% iterations)?
│   YES → Synthesize findings, test remaining high-priority hypotheses
│   NO → Continue
│
└─> Default: Generate new hypotheses OR explore unexplored data