Question Refiner

Overview

Transform vague research questions into structured, actionable research prompts through strategic clarifying questions with automatic research type detection and quality validation.

When to Use

•User provides a raw, unstructured research question
•Research scope is unclear or too broad
•Need validated structured prompt for research-executor
•Want to ensure prompt meets quality standards (≥8.0)

Core Approach

Progressive Questioning (2 rounds max):

•Round 1 (3 questions): Topic focus, output format, audience
•Round 2 (conditional): Scope, sources, special requirements
•Auto-detect research type → Select template → Generate & validate

Research Type Detection

Type	Indicators	Example
Exploratory	"what is", "overview", "landscape"	"What is the AI market like?"
Comparative	"vs", "compare", "difference"	"Compare GPT-4 vs Claude"
Problem-Solving	"how to", "solve", "fix"	"How to improve API performance"
Forecasting	"future", "trend", "prediction"	"Future of quantum computing"
Deep Dive	"technical", "architecture"	"How does BERT work internally"
Market Analysis	"market", "industry", "competition"	"AI chip market analysis"

Output Structure

markdown

### RESEARCH TYPE
[auto-detected type]

### TASK
[Clear, specific research objective]

### CONTEXT/BACKGROUND
[Why this matters, who will use it]

### SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
1-7 concrete sub-questions

### KEYWORDS
[Search terms ≥5]

### CONSTRAINTS
- Timeframe: [e.g., 2020-present]
- Geography: [e.g., global]
- Source types: [academic, industry, news]

### OUTPUT FORMAT
- Type: [comprehensive_report|executive_summary|comparison_table]
- Citation style: [inline-with-url|footnotes]

### QUALITY SCORE
[0-10, must be ≥8.0]

Quality Validation

Component	Weight	Criteria
Completeness	30%	All required fields present
Specificity	30%	Questions are specific, not vague
Keyword Richness	20%	≥5 search terms with synonyms
Constraint Clarity	20%	Clear, realistic constraints

Process: Generate → Validate → If score < 8.0: Refine (max 2 attempts)

Token Optimization

📋 Reference: .claude/shared/constants/token_optimization.md

Context Budget: 10k tokens max

Error Handling

📋 Reference: .claude/shared/constants/error_codes.md

•E001: Insufficient context → Ask clarifying questions
•E003: Validation failed → Refine and retry
•E004: Quality < 8.0 after retries → Request manual review

See also: Skill Base Template

Examples

See examples.md for detailed interaction patterns.

Detailed Instructions

See instructions.md for complete questioning strategy.