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Citation guidance

Citation Guidance

The Self-Complexity Research Network is a living project. Specifications, tools, and manuals are versioned and revised as the framework matures. Citations should always include the version number of each component used in a given study so that methods sections remain reproducible.

Platform Measurement Spec ISI Spec Salience Spec Archetypes Spec Manuals
Software · Versioned release
Platform citation

Everythingist Self-Space and Research Dashboard

The platform comprises a participant-facing self-mapping application (Everythingist Self-Space) and a researcher-facing analysis environment (Research Dashboard). Each is versioned independently; both version strings should appear in the citation when the platform is referenced as a whole.

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). Everythingist Self-Space and Research Dashboard (App build 6.5 (schema v1.7.0); Dashboard v0.17.1). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org

@misc{mullen2026platform,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {Everythingist Self-Space and Research Dashboard},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {App build 6.5 (schema v1.7.0); Dashboard v0.17.1},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org}
}

Verify these versions match what was deployed at the time of your data collection. The Self-Space manual colophon and Dashboard manual title page report current versions.

Scope

When to cite the platform

Cite the platform when participants completed self-mapping in the Everythingist Self-Space app, when analyses were run in the Research Dashboard, or when figures or exports produced by either component appear in a manuscript.

Stacking citations

Pair with specifications

Where specific metrics, indices, or classification schemes are reported, the platform citation should be accompanied by the relevant specification citation listed below.

Measurement specification

Self-Complexity Measurement Specification (Version 2.2)

The measurement specification documents all self-complexity metrics implemented in the Research Dashboard, including legacy, component, composite, spatial, connectivity, network, and distributional families. Cite this specification when any self-complexity metric is reported.

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). Self-complexity measurement specification (Version 2.2). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/measurement.html

@misc{mullen2026scspec,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {Self-Complexity Measurement Specification},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {2.2},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/measurement.html}
}

Manuscripts reporting Scott's H, overlap indices, crystallization, spillover risk, modularity, or any other metric defined in v2.2 should cite this specification alongside the platform.

Higher-order composite

Identity Strength Index Specification (Version 1.0)

The Identity Strength Index aggregates self-complexity primitives with affective and conviction-based ratings into a six-dimensional profile characterizing the strength of a participant's identity system. The specification defines each dimension, its inputs, and its calibration. Cite this specification when any ISI dimension or profile is reported.

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). Identity Strength Index specification (Version 1.0). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/identity-strength-index.html

@misc{mullen2026isi,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {Identity Strength Index Specification},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {1.0},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/identity-strength-index.html}
}

The ISI is reported as a profile, not a scalar. The diagnostic _overallMean field is not an appropriate outcome and should not be cited as such.

Behavioral and self-report signals

Salience Measurement Specification (Version 1.0)

The salience specification defines journey-level aggregates of four per-aspect signals — creation order, inter-aspect retrieval latency, focal dwell time, and revision behavior — along with cross-stream alignment metrics that test convergence between implicit and explicit indicators of identity prominence. Cite this specification when any salience metric is reported.

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). Salience measurement specification (Version 1.0). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/salience.html

@misc{mullen2026salience,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {Salience Measurement Specification},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {1.0},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/salience.html}
}

Salience metrics are computed at the present period. Past and future periods are currently excluded from salience-tier aggregates by design.

Draft · v0.1.1
Classification framework

Identity Archetypes and Self-Schematic Status (Version 0.1.1)

This specification documents operational definitions for self-schematic classification and identity archetypes implemented in the Research Dashboard, including threshold values, decision logic, and the empirical anchors for each operational choice. Cite this specification when archetype assignments or self-schematic classifications are reported.

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). Identity archetypes and self-schematic status: An operational specification (Version 0.1.1). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/identity-archetypes.html

@misc{mullen2026archetypes,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {Identity Archetypes and Self-Schematic Status: An Operational Specification},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {0.1.1},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/identity-archetypes.html}
}

This document is a working draft. Substantive revisions are expected before commitment to long-term API. Studies relying on archetype assignments should record both the specification version and the dashboard version used.

Researcher documentation

Manuals

Two manuals accompany the platform: a participant-side walkthrough used by investigators preparing protocols or onboarding participants, and a dashboard-side guide used during analysis. Cite the relevant manual when its procedures are followed in a study.

Participant-side documentation

The Everythingist Self-Space: A Researcher's Walkthrough (Version 1.0)

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). The Everythingist Self-Space: A researcher's walkthrough (Version 1.0). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/self-space-manual.html

@misc{mullen2026selfspacemanual,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {The Everythingist Self-Space: A Researcher's Walkthrough},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {1.0},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/self-space-manual.html}
}
Analysis-side documentation

A Researcher's Guide to the Everythingist Research Dashboard (Version 1.0)

APA
Mullen, S. P. (2026). A researcher's guide to the Everythingist Research Dashboard (Version 1.0). Self-Complexity Research Network. https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/dashboard-manual.html

@misc{mullen2026dashboardmanual,
  author    = {Mullen, Sean P.},
  title     = {A Researcher's Guide to the Everythingist Research Dashboard},
  year      = {2026},
  version   = {1.0},
  publisher = {Self-Complexity Research Network},
  url       = {https://selfcomplexityresearch.org/docs/dashboard-manual.html}
}
A note on living documents

Cite the version used, not "current"

The platform, specifications, and manuals are revised periodically. Citing a generic "current version" or omitting the version number compromises reproducibility, because the behavior of a metric, index, or classification rule in version n may differ from version n+1. Methods sections should record the exact version string of every component used at the time of data collection and analysis, and that version should appear in the corresponding reference list entry.

Version-specific guidance: investigators preparing manuscripts or protocols are encouraged to email the Self-Complexity Research Network for confirmation of the appropriate version string and for guidance on reporting metrics whose definitions have changed across releases.

Methods become infrastructure when others can inspect, cite, and use them.

Versioned citations preserve the chain of decisions behind a reported result.

Measurement Specification Back to Resources