# Academic Idea Funnel

Save to: `RESEARCH/[topic]/context/idea_funnel.md`

Use this artifact before Stage A work when the project starts from a vague topic, a brainstorm, or several possible research directions. The goal is to select a defensible paper idea before drafting research questions, contribution statements, venue analysis, or gap scans. This artifact does not replace `context/boundary_review.md`; it hands off the selected idea and unresolved scholarly risks to the boundary review.

## Source Prompt And Existing Artifacts

- source_prompt:
- paper_type:
- target_venue:
- starting_stage_or_entrypoint:
- artifacts_checked:
  - `context/research_state.md`:
  - `context/decision_log.md`:
  - `context/boundary_review.md`:
  - `framing/research_question.md`:
  - `gap_analysis.md`:
  - other:

## Candidate Idea Triage

| Idea ID | One-Sentence Idea | Paper Type Fit | Candidate Gap | Contribution Type | Evidence Needed | Feasibility | Novelty Risk | Reviewer Risk | Triage Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IF-001 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | keep / revise / reject |
| IF-002 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | keep / revise / reject |

## Recommended Research Idea

- recommended_idea_id:
- recommended_idea:
- why_this_can_be_one_paper:
- why_not_the_other_options:
- confidence:
- assumptions_to_verify_next:

## Claim, Gap, And Contribution

- core_claim:
- research_question:
- candidate_gap:
- contribution_type:
- primary_non_claim:
- key_constructs_or_phenomenon:
- population_context_time_or_corpus_boundary:

## Evidence Plan

| Evidence Need | Minimum Viable Source | What Would Support The Claim | What Would Weaken Or Falsify It | Next Task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  |  |  |  |

## Weakest Assumption And Rival Risk

- weakest_assumption:
- rival_explanation:
- contradictory_or_null_evidence_to_search:
- validity_or_trustworthiness_risk:
- feasibility_risk:
- ethical_or_governance_risk:

## Reviewer And Venue Fit

- likely_reviewer_question:
- venue_fit_signal:
- desk_reject_or_scope_risk:
- how_to_make_the_idea_more_defensible:

## Next Stage Recommendation

- next_stage_recommendation:
- recommended_task_id:
- rationale:
- prerequisite_artifacts:
- stop_or_continue:

## Boundary Review Handoff

- boundary_review_handoff:
- decisions_to_lock_in `context/boundary_review.md`:
  - research_question_or_claim:
  - contribution_type:
  - claim_strength:
  - evidence_threshold:
  - rival_explanations:
  - generalizability_limit:
  - venue_or_reviewer_risk:
- unresolved_boundary_questions:
- revisit_trigger:
