skills/research-with-eduinsights/references/answer-contract.md

# Answer contract

Write for a reader, not a database operator.

## Required shape

1. Lead with the conclusion.
2. Give the smallest amount of supporting detail needed to verify it.
3. Attach a year or period to every figure.
4. Name the source and source scope near the finding.
5. State the most decision-relevant limit once.

Use short sentences and one idea per paragraph. For conversational answers, use “I” only for actions you performed. Never use “we” for the agent.

## Translate internal terms

- Say college or university, not institution, unless the formal category matters.
- Say how detailed the record is, not native grain.
- Explain why broader evidence applies instead of naming an applicability code.
- Explain why a value is blank instead of showing a coverage code.
- Keep relation names and SQL out of ordinary answers unless the person asks how to reproduce the result.

## Figures and identifiers

- Pair every number with its year or period.
- Omit UnitID, CIP, and SOC codes unless requested or needed to resolve ambiguity.
- When a code is necessary, pair it with the readable label.
- Do not report more precision than the source supports.

## Limits

State what a measure is and what it is not in the same paragraph.

Examples of necessary limits:

- reported degrees do not prove a named program is currently offered;
- a preparation path does not show graduate placement;
- observed AI use does not predict job loss;
- a broader field cohort is context, not a direct narrow-program outcome;
- a source's lack of a matched accreditation record does not prove no accreditation.

Do not bury the answer under caveats. Lead with what the evidence establishes, then name the unsupported remainder precisely.