decomposition-formulation

Research

Strategy: decompose a complex research question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions

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Decomposition Formulation

Decompose a complex research question into independently answerable sub-questions — when a single experiment cannot answer the whole question.

When to Use

High problem complexity, involving multiple independent dimensions
A single experiment/study cannot answer it completely
Research plans that need to proceed in phases
The question contains multiple causal chains or multiple variable groups

Thinking Framework

Core logic: a complex problem = a combination of several simpler problems. Find the right decomposition such that each sub-question can be answered independently, and the answers to the sub-questions combine to answer the main question.

Decomposition Principles

MECE: sub-questions are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive
Independence: each sub-question can have its research design developed independently
Coverage: the combined answers of all sub-questions = the answer to the main question
Operationalizability: each sub-question is researchable (not a philosophical question)

Decomposition Dimensions

By causal chain: antecedent → mechanism → outcome
By variable: one sub-question per key variable
By condition: behavior under different boundary conditions
By level: macro → meso → micro
By time: short-term → mid-term → long-term effects

Budget Gate

Tier	Sub-questions	Dependency analysis	Sequence design
S	≥2 sub-questions	basic dependency identification	suggested order
M	≥3 sub-questions	dependency graph + critical path	optimal sequence + parallelization opportunities
L	≥5 sub-questions	full dependency graph + cycle detection	multi-path plan + resource allocation

Default Reference Flow

Analyze the complexity dimensions of the main RQ
Choose a decomposition strategy (by causality/variable/condition/level/time)
Generate sub-questions (sub-question-generation SOP)
Verify MECE and coverage
Map dependencies (dependency-mapping SOP)
Design the answering sequence (answering-sequence-design SOP)
Run a FINER check on each sub-question

context-checkpoint

After the Strategy completes, you must call context-checkpoint and record:

The main RQ and its complexity analysis
The chosen decomposition strategy
The list of sub-questions + independence argument
The dependency graph
The suggested answering sequence

Available Tactics

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

Tactic	When to use
sub-question-decomposition	Tactic: Decompose a main question into a hierarchy of independently answerable sub-questions

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

SOP	When to use
finer-criteria-check	SOP: check research-question quality against each of the 5 FINER criteria