Patent Draft: LucidLock: Method Logic Consistency Validator

The LucidLock Method Logic Consistency Check is an automated gate that analyzes whether the methods section of an academic paper is logically coherent, epistemically aligned with its research question, and free from common structural failures (e.g., hidden assumptions, circular reasoning, method-claim mismatch, or constraint-blindness). This validator assesses the internal reasoning integrity of methodological approaches — ensuring that a paper's research methods logically support the type of conclusions being drawn. It does not evaluate statistical rigor, author identity, ethics, or factual correctness. Its purpose is structural — to trace the shape of reasoning from question → method → conclusion and flag when that chain breaks. This is the third structural validator in the LucidLock suite, following the Reasoning Structure Check and Core Inquiry Continuity Check.