Research Claims Rule

This rule helps prevent the use of a common but problematic phrase in academic and technical writing: "More research is needed." The rule aims to eliminate this non-actionable and often unnecessary statement from documents.

The motivation behind this rule is important: stating that "more research is needed" is generally a weak conclusion that doesn't add value to the text. It's often used as a default ending in academic papers, but it:

  • States the obvious (research is always ongoing)
  • Doesn't provide specific direction or insights
  • Can come across as a filler statement
  • May indicate the writer is hedging or uncertain about their conclusions

Examples

Will flag:

  • "More research is needed to understand this phenomenon."
  • "MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED in this area." (case-insensitive)
  • "more research is needed before drawing conclusions."

The rule will suggest removing these phrases entirely, encouraging writers to instead:

  • Make specific recommendations for future research
  • Draw stronger conclusions from existing evidence
  • State concrete next steps or areas of investigation

Rule Source

This rule comes from: https://github.com/mesosphere/dcos-docs-site

Rule Definition

extends: existence
message: "Excessive apologizing: '%s'"
ignorecase: true
level: error
action:
  name: remove
tokens:
  - More research is needed