Individual skill
ajps-theory-building
Use when building the theoretical argument of an American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) manuscript — whether empirical with explicit mechanisms, formal/game-theoretic, or measurement-driven. AJPS rewards testable theory tightly linked to the empirical strategy, with hypotheses stated before the results. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.
American-Journal-of-Political-Science-Skills/skills/ajps-theory-building/SKILL.md
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# Theory & Argument Building (ajps-theory-building)
At AJPS the theory exists to **generate testable expectations** that the design and data then
adjudicate. The journal's empirical bar means a model or argument earns its place only if it yields
**observable, falsifiable implications** that the analysis can confront. This skill turns an idea into
hypotheses, mechanisms, and scope conditions in the idiom your work demands.
## When to trigger
- The empirics are strong but the "why" / mechanism is thin
- A reviewer said the paper is "atheoretical," "ad hoc," or "a model with no test"
- You need to state mechanisms, assumptions, and scope conditions explicitly
- Formal modeling: deciding what to model, what to assume, and what the model buys
