Individual skill
est-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether a problem fits Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) and which article type to target. ES&T rewards demonstrated environmental significance and transformational, direction-setting work over incremental lab results, so this skill pressure-tests the "so what for the environment?" question before you invest. It frames the contribution; it does not run experiments.
Environmental-Science-and-Technology-Skills/skills/est-topic-selection/SKILL.md
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# Topic Selection & Fit (est-topic-selection)
ES&T "aims to be transformational and direction-setting." The single most common reason a sound study
is off-fit is **missing environmental significance**: a clean measurement or a new material with no
demonstrated relevance to a real environmental system. Decide fit before you invest.
## When to trigger
- Choosing whether ES&T (vs a specialist or rapid venue) is the right home
- Sharpening a vague idea into an environmentally significant question
- Deciding between a full **Research Article** and the rapid **ES&T Letters**
- Worried the work reads as "routine data" or method-for-its-own-sake
## The environmental-significance test