Orchid Continuum — Non-Negotiable Spec (Research Lab Upgrade)

Context

The current site is visually advanced, but it does not yet deliver the functional requirements of the Orchid Continuum project. This is not a gallery project — it is a digital scientific research and conservation platform.

The following features are core deliverables. Without them, the project does not meet its mission.

⸻

1. Full Scientific Method Workflow (Mandatory)
    •    Implement a step-by-step workflow: Observation → Hypothesis → Methods → Data/Analysis → Conclusions → Paper Draft.
    •    Must include inputs for H₀/H₁, variables, filters (genus, region, month, elevation, wild/cultivated).
    •    Must allow running basic stats tests (Welch’s t, Mann–Whitney U) on Orchidaceae data.
    •    Must allow adding conclusions, limitations, next steps after analysis.

Acceptance Criteria
✅ User can move through all steps, fill forms, and generate output.
✅ Stats tests run on GBIF/Supabase data and display summary results.

⸻

2. Paper Draft Generator (IMRaD)
    •    Clicking “Generate Paper” must output a structured draft (Markdown or PDF) with the following sections:
    •    Title, Authors, Affiliations
    •    Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References
    •    Must automatically insert analysis outputs, hypotheses, and references.

Acceptance Criteria
✅ Draft is downloadable as Markdown or PDF.
✅ References appear in correct format (APA or BibTeX).

⸻

3. Reference Manager
    •    Ability to add references by DOI (CrossRef API) or manual entry.
    •    Must store and render references in APA style in paper output.
    •    Must export BibTeX.

Acceptance Criteria
✅ Adding DOI populates metadata (title, authors, year, journal).
✅ References appear formatted in output paper.

⸻

4. Educational Guidance
    •    Integrate guided examples so a new user can follow a real workflow (e.g., “Compare Cymbidium flowering at 35°N vs 35°S”).
    •    Provide tooltips or a “Help” panel explaining each stage of the scientific method.

Acceptance Criteria
✅ At least one working guided example pre-loaded.
✅ Each step has contextual help visible on demand.

⸻

5. Integration with Map/Gallery
    •    Research Lab must be accessible from the main control panel.
    •    Must connect with existing Map filters (species, country, time) and pass results into analysis pipeline.

Acceptance Criteria
✅ User can select orchids on the map and send the dataset to the Research Lab.
✅ Lab results and paper generation reflect the chosen subset.

⸻

6. Conservation & Licensing
    •    Species cards and outputs must include links to GBIF, IPNI, WFO, and original photo credit (e.g., Gary Yong Gee’s gallery).
    •    Outputs must display a data caveats notice (sampling bias, cultivated vs wild, etc.).

Acceptance Criteria
✅ Every record has source links and attribution.
✅ Caveats notice is visible on analysis/paper output.

⸻

Summary (Bottom Line)

These are not optional features. The Orchid Continuum’s value lies in being the first orchid-centered digital research lab, not just an advanced gallery.

Deliverables must:
    •    Implement the full scientific method pipeline.
    •    Output a structured scientific paper draft.
    •    Include a reference manager.
    •    Provide guided examples and educational context.
    •    Integrate with existing map/gallery data.

Without these, the system does not achieve the Continuum’s mission of scientific discovery, education, and conservation.