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R0054/2026-03-31/C006 — Claim Definition

Claim as Received

The output format is deliberately separated from the methodology — you can change how results are presented without changing how research is conducted.

Claim as Clarified

This is a design claim about the prompt architecture. It asserts that the research methodology (how investigations are conducted) and the output format (how results are presented) are implemented as independent, separable components. This implies a separation of concerns design principle applied to prompt engineering.

BLUF

The claim is exactly correct. The methodology exists in prompt-snapshot.md and the output format exists in output-format-snapshot.md as two separate documents. The output format specification explicitly states it is a "custom output format for the ai-research-methodology plugin" — confirming it is a separable layer. The methodology references only generic report structure in Step 10, while the specific formatting (directory structure, file templates, metadata blocks) is entirely contained in the output format specification. This separation of concerns is a well-established software engineering principle applied to prompt design.

Scope

  • Domain: Prompt architecture, software design principles
  • Timeframe: Current
  • Testability: Verifiable by examining the two documents and their relationship

Assessment Summary

Probability: Almost certain(ly) / Nearly certain (95-99%)

Confidence: High

Hypothesis outcome: H1 (claim accurate) confirmed by examining both documents.

[Full assessment in assessment.md.]

Status

Field Value
Date created 2026-03-31
Date completed 2026-03-31
Researcher profile Phil Moore
Prompt version ai-research-methodology v1 research.md
Revisit by N/A — architectural claim
Revisit trigger Merger of methodology and output format into a single document