A skill your agent uses when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution.

MITAuto-check passed

Install Jpart Theory Building

skills CLI
$ npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpart-theory-building -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills jpart-theory-building --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/Journal-of-Public-Administration-Research-and-Theory-Skills/skills/jpart-theory-building .claude/skills/jpart-theory-building && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
jpart-theory-building
GitHub stars
1.2k
Token cost
~2k tokens
SKILL.md length
904 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
2,387
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution.

  • Works in 4 steps: Concept. Define the key constructs… → Mechanism. The causal story in… → Observable implications. What we should… → …
  • SKILL.md covers When to trigger, Build the argument, Theory contribution ledger and Mechanism-to-evidence gate, plus 7 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Jpart Theory Building is an agent skill from brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills. Use when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution. JPART's defining demand is theory — its abstract template asks for the theoretical approach first and the implications for theory last. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.

Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

The repository describes itself as: Journal-specific Claude Code/Codex skill packs covering mainstream journals — AER, QJE, Nature, Cell, 管理世界, 经济研究 & 200+ more — your fast track to getting published. | 覆盖主流期刊的… The licence is MIT.

Example prompts

  • “/jpart-theory-building”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Concept. Define the key constructs precisely and distinguish them from neighbors — e.g., red tape
  2. Mechanism. The causal story in public-management terms: which actors (street-level bureaucrats,
  3. Observable implications. What we should see if the mechanism operates — and what we should not.
  4. Scope conditions. Where the theory holds and where it does not (sector, level of government,

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 932eb23. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Jpart Theory Building loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 92 tokens; SKILL.md has 904 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~92
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills at commit 932eb23, republished under its MIT licence (© brycewang-stanford). 904 words, ~2,010 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/jpart-theory-building/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
jpart-theory-building
description
Use when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution. JPART's defining demand is theory — its abstract template asks for the theoretical approach first and the implications for theory last. Structures the argument; it does not run analyses.

Theory Building (jpart-theory-building)

At JPART a result is not a contribution until it is attached to public-management theory the field can use elsewhere. The journal's own abstract template asks authors to state the theoretical approach first and to end with implications for theory — that ordering is the whole brief. This skill turns findings into theory: explicit constructs, mechanisms, scope conditions, and observable implications.

When to trigger

  • The empirics are strong but the "so what for theory" is thin
  • A reviewer said the paper is "atheoretical," "ad hoc," or "a finding in search of a theory"
  • You need to state the mechanism and scope conditions of a PA relationship explicitly
  • You are deciding whether you extend, test, bound, or overturn an existing PA theory

Build the argument

  1. Concept. Define the key constructs precisely and distinguish them from neighbors — e.g., red tape vs. administrative burden, PSM vs. job satisfaction, passive vs. active representation. Measurement follows the concept (see jpart-research-design).
  2. Mechanism. The causal story in public-management terms: which actors (street-level bureaucrats, managers, citizens, principals) do what, under which incentives, identities, motivations, or institutional constraints. A named mechanism is what makes the result portable.
  3. Observable implications. What we should see if the mechanism operates — and what we should not. These become the tests in jpart-research-design and the conditions in the analysis.
  4. Scope conditions. Where the theory holds and where it does not (sector, level of government, task type, regime). Public-management theory rarely travels unconditionally; say where it breaks.

Theory contribution ledger

Before drafting, turn the theory section into a ledger. Each row must connect a public-administration construct to a mechanism, a rival account, and a testable implication. If a row cannot be filled, the paper is not ready to claim a JPART-level theory contribution.

Ledger fieldStrong entryWeak entry
Construct"Administrative burden as learning, compliance, and psychological costs""Bureaucracy"
Mechanism"Managers reduce discretion because error costs are politically visible""It affects behavior"
Rival account"Observed effect is agency selection, not frontline discretion""Other factors"
Observable implication"Effects concentrate where rule ambiguity is high and audit threat is salient""There should be an effect"
Scope boundary"Applies to rule-bound service delivery, not emergency response""Generalizes broadly"
Theory payoff"Bounds red-tape theory by enforcement visibility""Has implications"

Mechanism-to-evidence gate

Use the mechanism to decide what the empirical design must show. This prevents a theory section from promising more than the design in jpart-research-design can support.

Theory claimEvidence needed before claiming itSafer wording if evidence is weaker
X causes Y through mechanism MIdentification for X -> Y plus evidence that M moves in the predicted direction"The pattern is consistent with M"
The effect differs across public-sector settingsPre-specified heterogeneity, adequate power, and measurement invariance"Exploratory heterogeneity suggests..."
A theory fails outside boundary BDirect comparison across inside/outside-boundary cases"Boundary B is a plausible limit"
A mechanism travels across countries or sectorsComparable constructs and institutional translation"The mechanism may travel where..."
Qualitative evidence revises theoryCase-selection logic, process observations, and rival-mechanism checks"The case elaborates a possible revision"
Show full SKILL.md (395 more words)Show less

Rival-theory stress test

JPART reviewers often reject theory sections that merely attach a familiar theory label to a result. Write the strongest rival theory in the same vocabulary as your own claim.

  1. Name the rival: selection, common-method perception, political principal control, resource capacity, professional norms, citizen sorting, or a competing PA theory.
  2. State its prediction in the same units as your mechanism.
  3. Identify the one result, pattern, or qualitative observation that would distinguish the two.
  4. If the manuscript cannot distinguish them, downgrade the claim from "shows" to "is consistent with" and make the rival a future-test agenda rather than hiding it.

Theory moves JPART rewards

MoveWhat it looks likeExample shape
Extendadd a condition or actor to an existing theoryPSM matters, but only under low red tape
Testbring a credible design to a claim long asserteddoes passive representation become active under threat?
Boundshow where a theory failsperformance information shifts citizens — except for co-partisans
Overturnreplace a mechanism with a better onethe "effect" is selection, not motivation

The portability test (JPART-specific)

Ask: Could a public-management scholar studying a different function, level, or country import this mechanism? If yes, you have a theory contribution. If it only works for your exact agency, tighten it into a general public-management logic or reframe (back to jpart-topic-selection).

Abstract-to-conclusion alignment

Because JPART asks the abstract to lead with theoretical approach and end with implications for theory, the theory contract must be visible at both ends of the paper.

  • Abstract opening: name the theory or construct, not only the setting or policy problem.
  • Introduction: state the theory move and the rival account before previewing the estimate.
  • Theory section: define constructs, mechanism, observable implications, and scope conditions in that order.
  • Results section: label each test by the observable implication it adjudicates.
  • Conclusion: return to what changes for public-administration theory, not only what managers should do.

Anti-patterns

  • "Hypothesizing after results are known" (HARKing) — state theory before tests; preregister where possible
  • Constructs named but never distinguished from their neighbors (red tape ≈ burden, PSM ≈ satisfaction)
  • A mechanism asserted but never made observable
  • Universal claims with no scope conditions across sectors/levels of government
  • Burying the theoretical payoff under the empirics — the abstract must lead with the theory approach

Output format

【Core claim】one sentence (public-management theory)
【Construct(s)】defined + distinguished from neighbors
【Mechanism】the causal story (actors + incentives/identity/institutions)
【Observable implications】testable consequences → research-design
【Scope conditions】sector / level / task where it holds or fails
【Theory move】extend / test / bound / overturn
【Rival theory】strongest alternative + distinguishing evidence
【Evidence gate】claim strength supported / needs softer wording / redesign needed
【Abstract alignment】theoretical approach first + implications for theory last? [Y/N]
【Next】jpart-research-design

Supplementary resources

© brycewang-stanford, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in Journal-of-Public-Administration-Research-and-Theory-Skills/skills/jpart-theory-building of brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 932eb23

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Asymptotic Theorybrycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills4.6k—~4.6kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence

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Questions about Jpart Theory Building

What does Jpart Theory Building do?

A skill your agent uses when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution. Jpart Theory Building is an agent skill from brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills. Use when building the theoretical argument of a Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART) manuscript into a public-management contribution.

How do I install Jpart Theory Building in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpart-theory-building -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (Journal-of-Public-Administration-Research-and-Theory-Skills/skills/jpart-theory-building in brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) into .claude/skills/jpart-theory-building in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Jpart Theory Building in Codex?

Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpart-theory-building -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (Journal-of-Public-Administration-Research-and-Theory-Skills/skills/jpart-theory-building in brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) into .agents/skills/jpart-theory-building in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Jpart Theory Building in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpart-theory-building -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/jpart-theory-building, .gemini/skills/jpart-theory-building, .github/skills/jpart-theory-building and .opencode/skills/jpart-theory-building in your project.

What does Jpart Theory Building need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Jpart Theory Building is instructions for the agent only.

Does Jpart Theory Building access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Jpart Theory Building safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Jpart Theory Building use?

Jpart Theory Building is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Jpart Theory Building use?

About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

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Who maintains Jpart Theory Building?

brycewang-stanford (a GitHub user) maintains it in brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, which has 1,231 GitHub stars. The repository holds 2,387 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 27, 2026.

Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.