Research Standards
The rules our reports, policy briefs, surveys and studies must meet.
Our research has to be as trustworthy as our reporting. These standards apply to every report, policy brief, working paper, case study, survey and index that Power Lens publishes.
Design
- Every study starts with a clear question and a plan for how to answer it.
- We choose methods that fit the question, and we say why.
- We state our limits: what the research can show, and what it cannot.
Evidence and sources
- Sources are cited so that readers can find them.
- We follow the evidence rules in our methodology.
- Where the law and safety allow, we publish the data and the method behind our findings. See our data methodology.
Surveys and public opinion
For every survey we publish the sample size, how people were selected, the dates of fieldwork, the questions asked, any weighting used, the margin of error where it applies, and who commissioned it. We do not publish results that we cannot support with our method.
Ethics
- Participants give informed consent and can withdraw.
- We collect only the personal information that we need, and we protect it. See our privacy policy.
- We do not put participants at risk. Research involving children or people at risk follows our safeguarding policy.
Review
Every publication is reviewed by someone who did not write it. [TO CONFIRM: whether reports also receive external expert review, and add it here]
Independence
Funders do not control our research questions, methods or findings. We disclose the funder of each publication. See editorial independence.
Authorship and credit
We credit authors and contributors, and we cite the work of others. Where contributors need to remain anonymous for their safety, we say so.
Corrections
We correct errors in research publications under our corrections policy, and we mark corrected versions clearly.