research-types-explanatory

Explanatory Research Sub-Skill

Router-dispatched paradigm sub-skill for Explanatory research. Not directly model-invocable; the research-agent parent loads this sub-skill only when Phase 1 detection classifies the question as Explanatory.

When This Sub-Skill Loads

The parent router dispatches here when the input question contains signals like:

• "Why does X happen"
• "Root cause of X"
• "What caused X" / "What led to X"
• "Explain why" / "Because"
• Post-incident investigations, defect investigations, "RCA on X"

Framework Selection

Framework	Use When
PECO	Population is exposed (not actively choosing) and effect is measured ("why did the population exposed to dependency X experience outcome Y")
None	Direct causal investigation; use 5 Whys + Fishbone instead of a formal framework

PICO is rare for Explanatory — Explanatory looks backward at why something happened; PICO looks forward at whether an intervention works.

Output Pattern: Causal Analysis

Use this pattern verbatim for the Findings section (parent skill's Phase 6 Synthesis output):

## Research Type: Explanatory
## Framework: [PECO / None]

## Symptom Definition
[Precise statement of observed effect - what, when, where, severity]

## 5 Whys Chain
Why 1: [Symptom] -> Because [Cause 1] [S1]
Why 2: [Cause 1] -> Because [Cause 2] [S2]
Why 3: [Cause 2] -> Because [Cause 3] [S3]
Why 4: [Cause 3] -> Because [Cause 4]
Why 5: [Cause 4] -> Because [Root Cause]

## Fishbone Categories (Ishikawa)
| Category | Contributing Factors |
|----------|---------------------|
| People | [...] |
| Process | [...] |
| Technology | [...] |
| Environment | [...] |
| Data/Materials | [...] |

## Hypothesis Evidence Map
| Hypothesis | Supporting [Sx] | Opposing [Sx] | GRADE |
|------------|-----------------|---------------|-------|
| H1: [...]  | [S1], [S3]      | [S2]          | ⊕⊕⊕◯  |

## Most Probable Root Cause
[State with GRADE level]

## Counterfactual Test
[What would we expect if this cause were removed? Does evidence support that?]

## Validation Required
[What experiment or observation would confirm the root cause?]