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When to Use This Skill

✅ Use when:

  • Researching founding team backgrounds for competitive analysis
  • Validating credentials of executives, investors, or advisors
  • Conducting systematic multi-source verification
  • Compiling structured profiles with citations
  • Investigating academic or research backgrounds

❌ Don't use when:

  • Information is already available in internal databases
  • Only need basic LinkedIn profile scraping
  • Research requires private or confidential sources
  • Single-source verification is sufficient

Overview​

Core Capabilities​

Systematic biographical research methodology for investigating individuals (founders, executives, investors, researchers) using structured web search with validation requirements.

Purpose​

Provide reusable capability for:

  • Conducting systematic biographical research
  • Validating information from multiple sources
  • Compiling structured profiles with citations
  • Maintaining high accuracy and avoiding fabrication

Invocation​

Via Agent​

Task(subagent_type="biographical-researcher",
     description="Research team members",
     prompt="Research [names] with focus on [areas]")

Via Slash Command​

/research-bio --names "Person1, Person2" --context "Company X"

Direct Skill Usage​

# Import biographical research patterns

## How to Use This Skill

1. Review the patterns and examples below
2. Apply the relevant patterns to your implementation
3. Follow the best practices outlined in this skill

from coditect.skills.biographical_research import (
    BiographicalResearcher,
    search_strategy,
    validation_checklist
)

Core Capabilities​

1. Systematic Search Strategy​

6-phase research approach:

  1. Initial identification & disambiguation
  2. Educational background
  3. Professional experience
  4. Research & publications (if applicable)
  5. Investment history (if applicable)
  6. Public presence & media

2. Multi-Source Validation​

  • Primary sources (LinkedIn, Google Scholar, personal websites)
  • Secondary sources (Twitter, GitHub, podcasts, interviews)
  • Tertiary sources (news, press releases - requires verification)
  • Minimum 2+ independent sources per major claim

3. Disambiguation Strategies​

  • Company affiliation filtering
  • Geographic location specificity
  • Specialty/domain keywords
  • Unique identifier usage (Twitter handles, email domains)
  • Co-occurrence with known associates

4. Structured Output​

Standardized profile format including:

  • Identity & role
  • Education
  • Professional background
  • Research/publications (if applicable)
  • Investment portfolio (if applicable)
  • Public presence
  • Company connection
  • Sources & citations

Search Query Templates​

Phase 1: Initial Identification​

"[Full Name] [Company/Affiliation]"
"[Full Name] LinkedIn"
"[Full Name] Twitter" OR "[Full Name] X.com"
"[Full Name] [Specialty/Role]"

Phase 2: Educational Background​

"[Name] university"
"[Name] PhD" OR "[Name] Master's" OR "[Name] degree"
"[Name] [University Name]"
"[Name] thesis" OR "[Name] dissertation"
"[Name] alumni"

Phase 3: Professional Experience​

"[Name] worked at"
"[Name] CEO" OR "[Name] CTO" OR "[Name] founder"
"[Name] career history"
"[Name] resume" OR "[Name] CV"

Phase 4: Research & Publications​

"[Name] Google Scholar"
"[Name] papers"
"[Name] research"
"[Name] publications [Field]"
"[Name] citations"

Phase 5: Investment History​

"[Name] investor"
"[Name] portfolio"
"[Name] investments"
"[Name] venture capital" OR "[Name] angel investor"
"[Name] Crunchbase"

Phase 6: Public Presence​

"[Name] interview"
"[Name] podcast"
"[Name] blog" OR "[Name] Substack"
"[Name] speaking" OR "[Name] conference"

Validation Checklist​

  • Identity confirmed with 90%+ confidence
  • 2+ independent sources for major claims
  • Primary sources prioritized
  • All sources cited with URLs
  • No speculation or fabrication
  • Information gaps noted
  • Confidence levels marked (high/medium/low)
  • Dates and timelines verified
  • Current information (<12 months for roles)

Output Format​

Individual Profile Structure​

## [Full Name]

**Role:** [Position]
**Affiliation:** [Company]
**Location:** [City, Country]

### Education
- [Degrees with institutions and years]

### Professional Background
- [Current and previous roles with dates]

### Research & Expertise
- Focus areas
- Notable publications
- Research impact metrics

### Investment Portfolio
- Investment focus
- Notable investments

### Public Presence
- LinkedIn: [URL]
- Twitter/X: [URL]
- Website: [URL]
- GitHub: [URL]
- Google Scholar: [URL]

### [Company] Connection
- Role and involvement details

### Notable Achievements
- [Key achievements list]

### Sources
1. [Source 1 with URL]
2. [Source 2 with URL]
3. [Additional sources...]

Quality Standards​

High-Quality Profile Requirements​

  • Completeness: 80%+ sections filled
  • Source Diversity: 3+ source types
  • Citation Density: Minimum 5 sources
  • Disambiguation: Clear from namesakes
  • Context: Explains relevance
  • Accuracy: Zero fabrication
  • Freshness: <12 months for current roles

Red Flags for Review​

  • Common name with ambiguous results
  • Limited public footprint (<3 sources)
  • Conflicting information across sources
  • Paywalled content blocking verification
  • Foreign language sources
  • Deleted/archived content

Error Handling​

Insufficient Information​

Resolution:

  1. Expand search with nicknames/variations
  2. Search for collaborators or colleagues
  3. Check alumni directories
  4. Note "Limited public information"
  5. Mark confidence LOW

Conflicting Information​

Resolution:

  1. Prioritize authoritative sources
  2. Check publication dates
  3. Cross-reference third source
  4. Note discrepancy in profile
  5. Mark confidence MEDIUM

Name Disambiguation Failure​

Resolution:

  1. Apply all disambiguation strategies
  2. Search unique combinations
  3. If ambiguous: DO NOT create profile
  4. Note inability to identify

Integration​

With CODITECT Agents​

  • competitive-market-analyst: Team backgrounds inform competitive analysis
  • business-intelligence-analyst: Credentials inform credibility assessment
  • research-agent: Leverages same web search patterns

With CODITECT Skills​

  • web-search-researcher: Source discovery
  • documentation-librarian: Profile storage and maintenance

Performance Metrics​

Time Estimates (Per Individual)​

  • Comprehensive profile: 45-60 minutes
  • Investor profile: 30-45 minutes
  • Basic profile: 15-20 minutes

Quality Metrics​

  • Sources: Average 5-7 per profile
  • Completeness: 80%+
  • Accuracy: 95%+ verified (0% fabrication)
  • Freshness: <12 months

Usage Examples​

Example 1: Research Startup Team​

Task(subagent_type="biographical-researcher",
     prompt="""
     Research Mechanize.work founding team:
     - Tamay Besiroglu
     - Matthew Barnett
     - Ege Erdil

     Focus: Education, Epoch AI background, publications
     """)

Example 2: Research Investors​

Task(subagent_type="biographical-researcher",
     prompt="""
     Research investor syndicate:
     - Nat Friedman
     - Daniel Gross
     - Patrick Collison

     Focus: Portfolio, investment thesis, partnerships
     """)

Best Practices​

DO:​

✅ Start with distinctive identifiers ✅ Use multiple search engines ✅ Verify dates across sources ✅ Note unverifiable information ✅ Cite every major claim

DON'T:​

❌ Assume affiliations without verification ❌ Fabricate to fill gaps ❌ Rely on single source ❌ Skip disambiguation ❌ Include outdated information without context

Privacy & Ethics​

  • Public information only
  • Professional focus
  • Balanced reporting
  • Accuracy over completeness
  • Source attribution
  • Respect privacy rights

Deliverables​

  1. Individual Profiles - Standardized markdown per person
  2. Team Overview - Combined analysis document
  3. Research Methodology Report - Strategy and challenges documented
  4. Source Bibliography - Comprehensive source list

Version History​

  • v1.0 (Dec 2025): Initial skill definition

Success Output​

When successful, this skill MUST output:

✅ SKILL COMPLETE: biographical-research

Completed:
- [x] 3 individuals researched with 90%+ confidence identification
- [x] Multi-source validation completed (5-7 sources per person)
- [x] Educational backgrounds verified from authoritative sources
- [x] Professional histories cross-referenced across LinkedIn, company sites
- [x] Research publications confirmed via Google Scholar (where applicable)
- [x] Investment portfolios validated via Crunchbase, AngelList (where applicable)

Outputs:
- research/profiles/person1-full-profile.md (structured profile with citations)
- research/profiles/person2-full-profile.md
- research/profiles/person3-full-profile.md
- research/team-overview.md (combined analysis)
- research/sources-bibliography.md (complete source list with URLs)
- research/methodology-report.md (research strategy and challenges)

Validation:
- Identity confidence: HIGH (90-95%) for all individuals
- Average sources per profile: 6.3
- Completeness: 85% of profile sections filled
- Zero fabrication detected in peer review

Completion Checklist​

Before marking this skill as complete, verify:

  • Identity confirmed with 90%+ confidence for each individual
  • 2+ independent sources for all major claims
  • All sources cited with full URLs in bibliography
  • Educational credentials verified from institutional sources
  • Current roles verified within last 12 months
  • No speculation or assumptions presented as facts
  • Disambiguation completed for common names
  • Information gaps explicitly noted (not filled with guesses)
  • All profiles follow standardized format
  • Peer review confirms zero fabrication

Failure Indicators​

This skill has FAILED if:

  • ❌ Name disambiguation failure (uncertain which individual researched)
  • ❌ Less than 2 sources for major claims (education, employment)
  • ❌ Fabricated information detected (dates, affiliations, achievements)
  • ❌ Sources not cited or URLs missing from bibliography
  • ❌ Outdated information (>12 months) presented as current
  • ❌ Profiles incomplete with <60% sections filled without explanation
  • ❌ Conflicting information across sources not resolved or noted
  • ❌ Privacy violations (personal contact info, private social media)

When NOT to Use​

Do NOT use biographical-research when:

  • Information already available in internal CRM/databases (query directly)
  • Only need basic LinkedIn profile summary (use LinkedIn directly, no multi-source needed)
  • Research requires access to paywalled content you don't have rights to
  • Single authoritative source is sufficient (government databases, official bios)
  • Researching private individuals without legitimate business purpose
  • Time-sensitive situations requiring <15 minutes (skill requires 45-60 min per person)
  • Subject has minimal public footprint (<3 discoverable sources)

Anti-Patterns (Avoid)​

Anti-PatternProblemSolution
Single-source profilesUnverified claims, potential errorsRequire 2+ independent sources for all major facts
Assuming name matchesWrong person profiledUse company affiliation + location + specialty filters
Filling gaps with speculationFabrication, loss of credibilityExplicitly note "Limited public information" for gaps
Ignoring date verificationOutdated information presented as currentCross-check dates across sources, note when uncertain
Relying on tertiary sourcesPropagated errors, unreliablePrioritize primary sources (LinkedIn, official bios, Scholar)
No source citationsUnverifiable research, wasted effortCite every source with URL in standardized format
Skipping disambiguationProfiling wrong individualUse multiple unique identifiers (email domain, colleagues)

Principles​

This skill embodies:

  • #5 Eliminate Ambiguity - Name disambiguation protocols prevent wrong-person research
  • #6 Clear, Understandable, Explainable - All claims sourced, research methodology documented
  • #8 No Assumptions - Information gaps noted explicitly, no speculation to fill holes
  • #9 Quality Over Speed - Multi-source validation takes time but ensures accuracy
  • #14 Trust & Transparency - Source citation and confidence levels maintain integrity

Full Principles: CODITECT-STANDARD-AUTOMATION.md

  • Agent: agents/biographical-researcher.md
  • Command: commands/research-bio.md
  • Script: scripts/biographical_researcher.py
  • Templates: prompts/biographical-research/

Skill Status: Production-ready Documentation: Complete Last Updated: December 2, 2025