CAMAF Scientific Production Framework Author's Manual
Description
English Description (primary language Portuguese)
This manual does not teach how to conduct empirical research, write journal articles, or follow ABNT or APA standards. Other excellent books do that. This manual answers a different question: what are the minimum conditions for a document to be treated as a genuine contribution to knowledge, regardless of who wrote it, at which institution, in which language, by which method, or on which platform it was published?
CAMAF (Alex Moura's Criterion of Factual Analysis) is an epistemological framework that originated from an observation made in 1989: school taught that "only Saturn has rings", but Voyager 2 showed Neptune also has rings. The problem was not the content (at the time, available data pointed only to Saturn). The problem was that provisional knowledge was presented as final, without stating its limits. CAMAF formalizes the solution: every knowledge claim must state what it knows, what it does not know, and what would make it change its mind.
This Author's Manual is the practical specification of CAMAF. It defines fifteen standards organized into three compliance tiers: CS1 (Declarative Transparency), CS2 (Structural Transparency, this document's tier), and CS3 (Full Accountability). The standards cover everything from explicit criteria and falsification conditions to semantic versioning, functional preregistration for theoretical work, open data, and a public protocol for formal critiques.
New readers do not need to read all of it to begin. Version 1.3.0 added Appendix E, a Quick Start: the complete minimal path from zero to a valid CS1 document in five steps, with examples, anti-examples, and a one-page guide for anyone who wants to critique a CAMAF document without prior credential. A prominent notice after the table of contents points first-time readers directly to it. Starting small is legitimate by design: the entry tier was built exactly for that. The 1.x series also consolidated the audit infrastructure around the fifteen standards: a mandatory critique classification taxonomy (CT1 to CT5), a Failure Pattern Catalogue (FP-01 to FP-11) and a Defence Pattern Catalogue (DP-01 to DP-08) that audit each other, a Declared Fork protocol for legitimate divergence, and the declared post hoc discovery, the honest counterpart of HARKing. No claim was altered across the 1.x releases; the public API, the fifteen standards and their definitions, remains stable under Semantic Versioning 2.0.0.
Primary language: Portuguese. This is the official version. In case of conceptual conflict between the Portuguese and English versions, the Portuguese version prevails.
Derivation chain: CAMAF Operational Standard Compliance Reference (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19990064) -> FPI (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19325926) -> Structuristics (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19636897) -> this manual.
Descrição em português (idioma primário)
Este manual não ensina a fazer pesquisa empírica, nem a escrever artigos para periódicos, nem a usar normas ABNT ou APA. Existem outros livros excelentes para isso. Este manual responde a uma pergunta diferente: quais são as condições mínimas para que um documento seja tratado como uma contribuição genuína ao conhecimento, independentemente de quem o escreveu, em qual instituição, em qual idioma, por qual método ou em qual plataforma foi publicado?
O CAMAF (Critério Alex Moura de Análise Factual) é um framework epistemológico que surgiu de uma observação feita em 1989: a escola ensinou que "só Saturno tem anéis", mas a sonda Voyager 2 mostrou Netuno também com anéis. O problema não era o conteúdo (na época, os dados disponíveis indicavam apenas Saturno). O problema era que o conhecimento provisório foi apresentado como definitivo, sem declarar seus limites. O CAMAF formaliza a solução: toda afirmação de conhecimento deve declarar o que sabe, o que não sabe e o que a faria mudar de ideia.
Este Manual do Autor é a especificação prática do CAMAF. Ele define quinze standards organizados em três níveis de conformidade: CS1 (Transparência Declarativa), CS2 (Transparência Estrutural, nível deste documento) e CS3 (Transparência Responsável). Os padrões cobrem desde a declaração explícita de critérios e condições de falsificação até o versionamento semântico, o pré-registro funcional para trabalhos teóricos, a abertura de dados e o protocolo público de críticas formais.
Novos leitores não precisam ler o manual inteiro para começar. A versão 1.3.0 adicionou o Apêndice E, um Quick Start: o caminho mínimo completo, do zero até um documento CS1 válido, em cinco passos, com exemplos, anti-exemplos e um guia de uma página para quem quer criticar um documento CAMAF sem credencial prévia. Uma nota destacada após o sumário aponta o leitor de primeira viagem diretamente para ele. Começar pequeno é legítimo por design: o nível de entrada foi construído exatamente para isso. A série 1.x também consolidou a infraestrutura de auditoria em torno dos quinze standards: uma taxonomia obrigatória de classificação de críticas (CT1 a CT5), um Catálogo de Padrões de Falha (FP-01 a FP-11) e um Catálogo de Padrões de Defesa (DP-01 a DP-08) que se auditam mutuamente, um protocolo de Bifurcação Declarada e a descoberta post hoc declarada, a contraparte honesta do HARKing. Nenhuma afirmação foi alterada ao longo da série 1.x; a API pública, os quinze standards e suas definições, permanece estável sob o Semantic Versioning 2.0.0.
Idioma primário: português. Esta é a versão oficial. Em caso de conflito conceitual entre a versão em português e a versão em inglês, prevalece a versão em português.
Cadeia de derivação: Referencial de Conformidade com o Padrão Operacional CAMAF (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19990064) -> FPI (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19325926) -> Structuristics (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19636897) -> este manual.
Files
camaf_authors_manual_v1_3_1_en.pdf
Additional details
Related works
- Is derived from
- Standard: 10.5281/zenodo.19990064 (DOI)
- Publication: 10.5281/zenodo.19325926 (DOI)
Dates
- Submitted
-
2026-05-07Version 0.5.0 is the first version entering the public record. Earlier versions existed as private development stages and were not subject to public traceability.
- Updated
-
2026-05-26Version 1.0.0 First Stable Release. Adoption of Semantic Versioning 2.0.0. Formatting migrated to template v1.4.1: 2.5cm margins, tcolorbox with accentblue scheme, mathptmx font. All pending decisions resolved: D5 — adapted CRediT taxonomy with six additional roles; D6 — full conflict of interest protocol; D7 — functional pre-registration for theoretical work; D8 — FAIR adaptation by document type; D9 — public scientific communication specification. CAMAF Compliance Declaration, Author Contributions, Conflict of Interests, and Conditions for Correction and Retraction added as formal sections. Appendix B with canonical section architecture v1.4. English declared as primary publication language; Portuguese as primary development language.
- Updated
-
2026-05-26Version 1.0.1 PATCH. Conceptual inconsistency resolved between the Manifesto and the CS tier system. Manifesto claim 5 rewritten to distinguish the definitional horizon (five characteristics of a fully realised knowledge claim) from the conditions of full conformity (the fifteen standards). New section "Reconciliation Note: The Horizon and the Ladder" added at the start of Part IVB. CS1 expanded with a sentence clarifying that a CS1 document is an exploratory knowledge claim, and that a document failing CS1 has not produced a knowledge claim under any regime. No claim retracted.
- Updated
-
2026-06-02Version 1.0.2 PATCH. Clarity, spelling, and internal consistency revision. No claim altered. No standard redefined. Public API (the fifteen standards and their definitions) unchanged. Citation-compatible with v1.0.0 and v1.0.1.
- Updated
-
2026-07-16Version 1.1.0 MINOR: Critique governance Part VI expanded. The formal critique template grew from four to five mandatory elements: a critique classification taxonomy (CT1 logical error, CT2 factual error, CT3 methodological error, CT4 documental error, CT5 extension proposal) is now required, declared by the critic and contestable by the author. Operational sufficiency criterion for resolution proposals: executable, verifiable, specific enough that a third party can assess implementation. The author's response obligation declared as argumentative, not rhetorical: the author need not convince, but must respond auditably. Redundant critique protocol: substantially equivalent critiques may be answered by reference, but new arguments, new evidence, or a different resolution proposal defeat redundancy. New Declared Fork section: when a rejected critique ends in standing disagreement, the critic may formalise the divergence as a derived document declaring the full derivation chain, the exact component of divergence, and a justification satisfying the same standards. No authorisation from the original author is required.
- Updated
-
2026-07-16Version 1.2.0 MINOR: Failure and defence catalogues Appendix C added: Failure Pattern Catalogue, FP-01 through FP-11. Eleven recurring epistemic failure patterns (undue generalisation, hidden circularity, category mixing, implicit scope, post hoc prediction, analogy-inference confusion, silent definition change, authority dependence, ornamental citation, terminological equivocation, false exhaustiveness), each with identifier, definition, anchoring standard, and observable signature. Citation by identifier is optional in formal critiques and anchors the critique in a shared vocabulary. The catalogue is open: it may grow in MINOR versions without altering the fifteen standards. Appendix D added: Defence Pattern Catalogue, DP-01 through DP-08, in three groups (the critique misses the target, covering the straw man; the critique is formally deficient; the critique is answered on the merits), with three safeguards against abuse: every defence is itself auditable, formal defences do not settle the merits, and their use is optional. Cross-references added in the critique template and the Response Protocol.
- Updated
-
2026-07-19Version 1.3.0 MINOR: Entry path and honest post hoc Appendix E added: Quick Start, the Minimal Path. Five steps from zero to a valid CS1 document (Standards 1, 2, 7, 8 plus self-declaration), each with an example and an anti-example; a map of the CS ladder; and a one-page guide for critics who have not read the manual. A prominent entry notice after the table of contents points first-time readers to it. Standard 13 expanded with a fourth protocol component: the declared post hoc discovery. Unexpected findings, post-publication convergences, and cross-domain connections are legitimate when declared with three mandatory properties: real temporal order, epistemic demotion (the data that suggested a finding cannot confirm it, which is the exact boundary with HARKing), and a promotion path to tested prediction. A standardised declarable format is provided. Inverse reference added to FP-05: the catalogue now points from the dishonest form of the event to its legitimate declared form.
- Updated
-
2026-07-20Version 1.3.1 PATCH: Language declaration fix The cover language declaration of the English version was corrected to agree with the document's own internal notebox: Portuguese is the primary and prevailing language, the English version is secondary. Internal consistency fix; no claim altered, no standard changed.