RMP.1:4.2 - Four-Condition Research-Membership Test
| Condition | Passing question | Does not pass | Reopen cue |
|---|---|---|---|
| unresolved relative to a qualified frame and named use | Could a materially different answer or criticism revise, retain, reject, narrow, or add an exact episteme used by the named receiver? | The fact is merely new to the performer, the topic is interesting, or qualified retrieval/current-best work already supplies the answer. | A current source gap, serious rival, source limitation, or changed receiving question makes the exact episteme unresolved again. |
| non-routine design, interpretation, synthesis, or credibility choice under genuine uncertainty | Is the answer or defensible route not predetermined, and must a non-routine choice be justified against alternatives? | The Work executes an already qualified Method with supplied variables, criteria, and interpretation; only schedule, process variance, or execution risk is uncertain. | Method fit, an underlying mechanism or validity claim, or a materially new case becomes unresolved and can change the criticism logic. |
| systematic and criticism-ready | Can a critic recover the sources, premises, intended and performed moves, evidence, deviations, limits, and stops, and defeat or narrow the claim? | A checklist is completed, measurements are repeated, or records are stored without an inspectable question-to-return chain. | A recoverable trace and a defeasible claim can now be formed for the unresolved question. |
| bounded communicable episteme contribution | Is the intended result an inspectable claim or corpus contribution with applicability, limits, and a named return? | The only intended result is an immediate control action, compliance token, product acceptance, institutional recognition, private belief, or unbounded “knowledge.” | A bounded episteme change is stated separately from the later action or recognition. |
These are assurance questions for membership. Recognition cues—such as an experiment, a literature review, a laboratory, a surprising graph, an academic affiliation, or the word “research”—cannot substitute for any row.