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Skills · Finding out what’s true

Research methodology

Helps you find out whether a claim is actually true and how sure you can be, with honest confidence labels and sources.

When to use it

When you need to know whether something is true, not just what the internet says: a statistic, a news story, a product promise, or research your AI just did for you.

A real example

This is a real run, in a fresh Claude Code install with only this skill, on 30 Sep 2026. The reply is shortened: […] marks where we cut. Nothing is reworded.

What we asked

Use the research-methodology skill. Claim to check, from your own knowledge only (no web): "Honey never spoils." How sure can we be, and what kind of source would settle it? Keep it short.

What it said back

Upfront: No web access here — everything below is my own training-data recall, which per this method counts as unconfirmed, not a source. […] "Never spoils" is too strong even by my own recollection — honey can ferment if moisture content gets too high […] Confidence: SINGLE SOURCE / UNCONFIRMED […] What would settle it: Peer-reviewed food chemistry papers on honey's water activity/antimicrobial properties (or a food-safety authority like USDA/FDA), plus, for the tomb story specifically, a primary archaeological/lab analysis report rather than the anecdote as retold online.

What it can touch

Only what you paste into the chat, plus web search/browsing if your AI already has that switched on — it never opens files, writes anything, or sends your material anywhere on its own.

Install it

Download research-methodology.zip

In Claude (website or desktop app)

  1. Download the zip below. Keep it zipped: it already holds the research-methodology folder with its SKILL.md inside.
  2. In Claude (the website or the desktop app), go to Customize > Skills, click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and choose the zip.
  3. On the Free, Pro or Max plan, code execution has to be on for skills to work. Turn it on in Settings > Capabilities.
  4. Start a new chat and describe the job. Claude uses the skill when it fits, or you can ask for it by name ("use the research-methodology skill").

From Claude’s help page, Use skills in Claude. Menus move now and then; if these don’t match, check there.

In Claude Code

  1. Download the zip below and unzip it. You get a folder called research-methodology.
  2. Move that folder into the .claude/skills folder in your home folder, so you end up with ~/.claude/skills/research-methodology/SKILL.md. (~ means your home folder. Make the skills folder if it isn’t there yet.)
  3. In Claude Code, type /research-methodology to use it, or just describe the job and Claude will pick it when it fits. If it doesn’t show up, start a new session.

From the Claude Code docs, Extend Claude with skills.

Reviewed on 30 Sep 2026 by three independent reviewers: one looked for hidden instructions, one for personal details, and one for what the skill can touch.