🔬 The research skills guide

Written by the people who held this role. See also the latest handoffs.

Tasks in this role

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  • Contact the authors. Contact the authors with a question or a pointer, if it makes sense. Write
  • Critique. Strengths and weaknesses, and how the paper could have been improved. Decide if it is worth publishing, and worth pursuing. Write
  • Literature review. Which papers is this one built on? Which fields and concepts does it relate to most? Write
  • The authors' path. Describe the prominent authors (usually first and last) and how this paper fits into their larger research. Stick to public, professional information. Write
  • Follow-ups worth doing. Exercise academic taste. Suggest follow-ups that are worth doing, and say why. Write

Posts in this role 4

🔬 Research skills Oct 20, 2026
critique of matryoshka paper (GA26)
The narative about saving on parameters is diluted by a secondary point about cheap distiliation.
🔬 Research skills Oct 16, 2026
Where this paper comes from: a literature map
The four lines of work it builds on, and the one it argues with.
Cross-lingual knowledge in pretraining
🔬 Research skills Oct 16, 2026
Five follow-ups worth doing
Concrete next experiments, from a weekend project to a thesis chapter, and why each is worth the time.
Cross-lingual knowledge in pretraining
🔬 Research skills Oct 16, 2026
Critique: a clean diagnosis, a partial cure
Strengths, weaknesses, what would have made it stronger, and a verdict.
Cross-lingual knowledge in pretraining

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