# Hypothesis Formation Variable Identification

> SOP: identify variables and their roles within a hypothesis

- Skill: `yogsoth-ai/hypothesis-formation-variable-identification` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add yogsoth-ai/hypothesis-formation-variable-identification`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/yogsoth-ai/hypothesis-formation-variable-identification/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: yogsoth-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/yogsoth-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/yogsoth-ai/hypothesis-formation-variable-identification

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# Variable Identification
Identify all variables from a mechanism description and annotate their roles within the hypothesis structure.

## HARD-GATE
<HARD-GATE>
Preconditions (all must hold before starting):
1. At least 1 causal mechanism chain has been provided
2. The mechanism chain contains identifiable variable names

Not met → stop, return error: mechanism description is insufficient to identify variables.
</HARD-GATE>

## Pipeline
1. Precondition check: verify mechanism chain completeness
2. Variable extraction: enumerate all variables from every mechanism chain (including implicit variables)
3. Role classification: assign a role to each variable (IV/DV/mediator/moderator/control/confound)
4. Deduplication and merging: when the same variable appears in different mechanisms, merge it and annotate multiple roles
5. Operationalizability assessment: evaluate whether each variable can be measured (high/medium/low/unclear)
6. Output a structured variable list

## Output Format
```json
[
  {
    "name": "Variable name",
    "role": "IV | DV | mediator | moderator | control | confound",
    "description": "What this variable represents",
    "source_mechanism": ["mechanism name(s) where this variable appears"],
    "operationalizable": "high | medium | low | unclear",
    "operationalization_notes": "How it might be measured or manipulated"
  }
]
```
Identify at least 2 variables (1 IV + 1 DV).