What it does
This project gathers many "skills" for AI agents such as Claude Code and Codex. A skill is a packaged set of instructions that teaches the assistant how to do a specific task. These skills focus on empirical research in the social sciences, meaning research that tests ideas with real data.
The README lays out a nine-stage pipeline: sharpening a research question, reviewing past studies, finding and cleaning data, choosing a method to measure cause and effect, running statistics in Python, Stata or R, checking that results hold up, making publication-style tables and charts, writing and mock peer review, and preparing for submission. A coordinating skill called Paper-WorkFlow can link these stages so the assistant runs them in order, while you can step in at any point.
The collection also includes test tasks and scoring tools so people can check how well an AI agent handles research work. A searchable page lets you filter skills by method, stage, language and license.
Who it's for
Students and researchers in economics and other social sciences who use AI coding assistants and want help with data analysis and paper writing.
Can I use it without coding?
With some setup. You install it by giving the project link to Claude Code or Codex, or with a few commands, and then ask for tasks in plain language. New to this? Start here.
Can I run it?
- Cost
- Free, but needs an AI accountThe software is free, but it uses an online AI service (like OpenAI or Anthropic), which usually charges for use.
- Runs on
- Mac, Windows
- Computer
- An ordinary computer is fine
Try it
- Make sure you have an AI coding assistant such as Claude Code or Codex.
- Give the assistant the project's GitHub link and say whether to install it for one folder, one project or everywhere.
- Start a new session and describe the research task you want in plain language.
Using Claude Code, Cursor or another AI coding assistant? Paste the prompt and it will walk you through the setup.New to this?
Before you install
- Only download from the official GitHub page. Copies with similar names exist for many popular projects.
- Plain-AyI is an independent guide and doesn't host or review the software it lists. Please check each project's official page before installing.
- No standard license listed. Check the GitHub page before using it for business.
- More on staying safe