Vague idea or real research question?
An interest is not a research question. Almost nobody will tell you exactly how far apart the two currently are, because while the usual comments, "narrow it a bit", "tighten your focus", sound like feedback, they're not. That kind of comment doesn't say which stage you're at, what's missing, or, most importantly, what you should do. This agent does.
What it does
You tell it what you have: a vague interest, a narrowed topic, a draft question. It tells you exactly where you are on the path to a research question, what's missing, and what to do next.
How it works
Diagnoses your stage on a five-stage path: vague interest → narrowed topic → identified puzzle → draft question → testable research question. If you have a draft question, runs it against six assessment criteria: is it actually a question, does it presuppose its own answer, is it answerable, is it specific enough, is it worth answering, is it already answered. Gives you two to four specific, actionable moves to get to the next stage.
What you get back
Where you are (one sentence, plainly). What you have (honest characterisation). What's missing (the specific gap). The moves (concrete steps, not generic advice). If a draft question exists, a criterion-by-criterion assessment.
What sharper feedback looks like
Instead of "great topic, maybe narrow it a bit," it names the actual problem. Two patterns show up constantly, and students almost never see them on their own.
The answer baked into the question. "How do students use fashion to construct their subjectivity" assumes the relationship before the research begins. Break the fused claim apart: study how students engage with fashion first, then ask what role, if any, it plays, and replace "subjectivity" with what you actually mean.
Borrowed concepts that don't travel. "Soft power" used to mean domestic political influence. "Hegemony" used to mean dominance. "Performativity" used to mean performance. A thesis built on a misapplied concept will be dismantled in the first question of the defense.
What it won't do
Generate a research question for you. That's your intellectual work. The skill diagnoses and directs, you form the question.
Scope
Undergraduate and postgraduate theses in the qualitative human and social sciences. Not for PhD research design, quantitative research questions, or writing the thesis itself.
