Substrate/research

Research Projects

Purpose

The research/ directory contains completed research projects with their findings, methodology, and analysis. Research projects typically use external data sources from Data/sources/ and produce curated datasets that are stored in Data/.

Relationship with Data Directory

Research projects work in conjunction with the Data/ directory:

Research → Data Workflow:

1. Input: Use ../Data/sources/ to access external data APIs and endpoints
2. Analysis: Perform analysis, synthesis, and investigation
3. Output: Produce curated datasets stored in ../Data/ top-level
4. Documentation: Document methodology, sources used, and resulting datasets

Required Research Project Structure

Each research project should follow this structure:

research/[project-name-YYYY-MM]/
├── README.md                    # Overview, research question, primary findings
├── SOURCES.md                   # Links to ../Data/sources/ used as inputs
├── METHODOLOGY.md               # Research design and methods
├── findings/                    # Analysis and insights
│   ├── SYNTHESIS.md            # Cross-analysis synthesis
│   └── [topic-specific].md     # Individual findings
└── [links to ../Data/[dataset]/]  # Reference to resulting dataset

README.md Template

# [Research Project Title]

**Research Study**
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Researcher:** [Name]
**Research Design:** [Brief description]

---

## Research Question

[Primary research question or hypothesis]

---

## Methodology

[Brief methodology summary - link to METHODOLOGY.md for details]

---

## Primary Finding

[Key finding or answer to research question]

---

## Data Sources Used

This research used the following external data sources from `../Data/sources/`:
- [DS-00001—WHO_Global_Health_Observatory](../Data/sources/DS-00001—WHO_Global_Health_Observatory/)
- [DS-00002—UN_SDG_Indicators](../Data/sources/DS-00002—UN_SDG_Indicators/)

See [SOURCES.md](./SOURCES.md) for complete source documentation.

---

## Resulting Dataset

This research produced the following curated dataset:
- [Dataset Name](../Data/[Dataset-Name]/)
  - `[dataset-file].md` - Primary dataset
  - `source.md` - Metadata linking back to this research

---

## Findings

[Links to findings/ directory]

---

## Integration with Substrate

[How this research connects to Problems, Solutions, Claims, etc.]

SOURCES.md Template

# Data Sources Used

**Research Project:** [Project Name]
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD

---

## External Data Sources

This research used the following data sources from `../Data/sources/`:

### DS-00001 — WHO Global Health Observatory
- **Path:** `../Data/sources/DS-00001—WHO_Global_Health_Observatory/`
- **What we used:** [Specific indicators or datasets]
- **Why we used it:** [Reason for using this source]
- **Date accessed:** YYYY-MM-DD

### DS-00002 — UN SDG Indicators
- **Path:** `../Data/sources/DS-00002—UN_SDG_Indicators/`
- **What we used:** [Specific indicators or datasets]
- **Why we used it:** [Reason for using this source]
- **Date accessed:** YYYY-MM-DD

---

## Additional Sources

[Any sources not in Data/sources/ - these should be added to Data/sources/ for future research]

---

## Data Processing

[Brief description of how raw data from sources was processed, cleaned, and analyzed]

Key Principles

1. Traceability: Always document which Data/sources/ were used
2. Reproducibility: Methodology should enable others to reproduce findings
3. Dataset Production: Curated outputs go in ../Data/ with source.md linking back
4. Bidirectional Links: Research → Data and Data → Research connections maintained
5. Source Citation: Credit all external sources properly

Benefits of This Structure

• Provenance: Clear lineage from source → research → dataset
• Reproducibility: Research can be verified and repeated
• Reusability: Future research can build on existing work
• Quality: Traceability enables validation
• Discovery: Easy to find research that used specific sources

Example: Knowledge Worker Compensation Study

research/knowledge-worker-compensation-2025-10/
├── README.md                    # Study overview
├── SOURCES.md                   # BLS, BEA, Census sources used
├── METHODOLOGY.md               # 40-agent parallel research design
├── findings/
│   ├── SYNTHESIS.md
│   ├── variance-analysis.md
│   └── bayesian-reconciliation.md
└── [links to ../Data/Knowledge-Worker-Global-Salaries/]

../Data/Knowledge-Worker-Global-Salaries/
├── knowledge-worker-compensation-data.md    # Curated dataset
└── source.md                               # Links back to research project

---

Mission: Conduct rigorous research that produces traceable, reproducible, and reusable datasets to support human understanding and progress.