Research Strategy Templates

Research & Strategy Templates

This section covers the foundational Markdown templates used during the Direction and Collection phases of an investigation. These templates enforce standardized intelligence frameworks (STEEPLES, PLAN, Admiralty 6x6, GPS/FAN) to ensure that every inquiry is legally justified, environmentally scoped, and epistemically vetted before analysis begins.

The template_builder.py script assembles these templates into the active workspace based on the current task requirements.

Core Strategy Frameworks

The research phase is governed by two primary decision-making logs that establish the "state of mind" of the investigator, providing a defensive bulwark against legal challenges and "scope creep".

Case Decision Log (CDL)

The CDL is the first document created in any investigation. It integrates the STEEPLES and PLAN frameworks to justify the proportionality and necessity of the operation.

Framework	Component	Technical Application
STEEPLES	Environmental Assessment	Evaluates Social, Technical, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical, and Safety factors.
PLAN	Legal Justification	Evaluates Proportionality, Legality, Accountability, and Necessity of investigative vectors.
NDM	National Decision Model	A six-stage cycling model used to review decisions as new intelligence emerges.

Investigation Strategy

This template transforms operational goals into actionable Intelligence Requirements (IRs) and a structured Intelligence Collection Plan (ICP).

Strategic Data Flow The diagram below illustrates how strategic intent is converted into technical tasking within the codebase entities.

Title: Strategy to Task Execution Flow

graph TD
    subgraph "Natural Language Space (Strategic)"
        GOAL["Operational Goals"]
        STEEPLES["STEEPLES Assessment"]
        PLAN["PLAN Justification"]
    end

    subgraph "Code Entity Space (Execution)"
        CDL["case-decision-log.md"]
        STRAT["investigation-strategy.md"]
        TR["task_runner.py"]
        CSDB["CSDb (D1 Database)"]
    end

    GOAL --> CDL
    STEEPLES --> CDL
    PLAN --> CDL
    CDL --> STRAT
    STRAT --> TR
    TR -- "Update Progress" --> CSDB

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Epistemic Filtering & Source Grading

Once collection begins, data must pass through an "epistemic filter" to prevent workspace poisoning.

Admiralty 6x6 (Source & Credibility Grader)

The source-grading.md template implements the NATO Intelligence Grading System. Every discrete claim is assigned an alphanumeric grade.

• Source Reliability (A–F): Assessment of the provider's historical track record (e.g., A = Completely Reliable, F = Cannot Be Judged).
• Information Credibility (1–6): Assessment of the data's internal logic and external corroboration (e.g., 1 = Confirmed, 6 = Truth Cannot Be Judged).

Parallel Sourcing Mandate

The strategy enforces a tiered hierarchy of sources to mitigate single-source reliance:

1. Tier 1: Official government records.
2. Tier 2: Verified commercial databases.
3. Tier 3: Authenticated social media.
4. Tier 4: Secondary commentary/news.

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Specialized Research Templates

For complex subjects involving identity structures or specific legal standards, the toolkit provides specialized research templates.

Family Network Research (GPS/FAN)

Used in Step 8 for genealogical mapping. It enforces the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) and the FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) principle to map power hierarchies and identity structures skills/claude-sleuth/references/guidance.md:23.

Cultural Context (Berkeley Protocol)

The cultural-context.md template is used for ethnographic background and mapping social norms that might affect subject behavior or digital footprints. It aligns with the Berkeley Protocol on Digital Open Source Investigations skills/claude-sleuth/references/guidance.md:23.

Evidence Preservation & Chain of Custody

The evidence-register.md (and associated scripts) ensures that every digital asset is hashed (SHA-256) and archived with its original metadata.

Evidence Data Flow This diagram maps the preservation process from the evidence_preservation.py script to the CSDb storage.

Title: Evidence Preservation Pipeline

graph LR
    subgraph "Collection Script"
        EP["evidence_preservation.py"]
        HASH["SHA-256 Hashing"]
    end

    subgraph "Templates & DB"
        REG["evidence-register.md"]
        D1["CSDb (D1: evidence table)"]
    end

    EP --> HASH
    HASH --> REG
    REG -- "MCP: add_evidence" --> D1

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Template Implementation Summary

Template	Framework	Phase	Key Purpose
case-decision-log.md	STEEPLES / PLAN	Phase 1	Legal and environmental justification of the case.
investigation-strategy.md	ICP / IR	Phase 1	Defines intelligence requirements and collection tiers.
source-grading.md	Admiralty 6x6	Phase 2	Independent assessment of source and information.
family-network-research.md	GPS / FAN	Phase 3	Genealogical mapping and network identity.
cultural-context.md	Berkeley Protocol	Phase 3	Social and ethnographic background assessment.

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