Methods
From question to auditable result.
Cumulant's workflow is designed to make research inspectable. Software agents help retrieve evidence, write and test code, challenge findings, and preserve research state.
Deterministic systems verify estimates, citations, artifacts, and progression gates. Human researchers define the question, review the design, interpret the evidence, and decide what becomes public.
Stages
- 01
Frame
Define one specific and falsifiable research question.
- 02
Map
Review prior literature, methods, disagreements, and unresolved gaps.
- 03
Retrieve
Acquire data and record its source, coverage, and provenance.
- 04
Validate
Check missingness, duplicates, alignment, transformations, and sample construction.
- 05
Declare
Specify the main outcome, assumptions, model, exclusions, and robustness plan.
- 06
Analyze
Run deterministic code and save machine-readable outputs.
- 07
Challenge
Use critical review to search for leakage, weak identification, alternative explanations, and unsupported claims.
- 08
Stress-test
Test alternate samples, variables, models, windows, costs, assumptions, and out-of-sample behavior.
- 09
Verify
Trace numerical claims and citations to saved evidence.
- 10
Reproduce
Rebuild results from preserved inputs, code, seeds, and configurations.
- 11
Review
Require human evaluation of the design, interpretation, limitations, and release decision.
- 12
Release
Publish a versioned output with methods, code, data status, limitations, and correction history.
Phases
- Define
- Frame
- Map
- Build
- Retrieve
- Validate
- Declare
- Interrogate
- Analyze
- Challenge
- Stress-test
- Confirm
- Verify
- Reproduce
- Review
- Release