3. Process definition standards

3.1 Requirements

Every process must have a definition field that is:

1. Non-empty. A blank definition is a data quality failure.

2. One sentence minimum. The definition should be a self-contained statement of what the process is, understandable to a researcher in a neighboring subfield.

3. Operationally grounded. The definition should connect to how the process is elicited or measured, not just what it “is” in the abstract.

3.2 What makes a good definition

A good process definition states what the process does (or what the participant does), in terms that connect to observable paradigms. Compare:

• Weak: “The process of inhibiting responses.” (Circular.)

• Better: “Suppression of a prepotent or already-initiated response when it becomes inappropriate, indexed behaviorally by stop-signal reaction time or commission errors.”

Definitions that begin with “See 5.6” or cross-reference a section number from an earlier document are stale artifacts and should be rewritten.

3.3 Cross-references in definitions

If a process definition says “See instrumental conditioning” or similar, this indicates a synonym relationship. The definition should still state what the process is, even if briefly, rather than being a bare pointer.