Editorial Policy

This policy governs how Whitfield Research Partners produces, reviews, and corrects published research.

Editorial Independence

Whitfield Research Partners controls the selection of topics, criteria, evidence classes, and conclusions. No sponsor, vendor, or advertiser may dictate or preview research outputs. Commercial teams do not participate in editorial decisions.

Commitments

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  Criteria before conclusions

  We set evaluation standards before naming any subject.

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  Source transparency

  Every material claim is traceable to a documented source.

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  Conflict disclosure

  Commercial relationships are disclosed in every report.

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  Open corrections

  We publish corrections when supported by qualifying evidence.

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  No pay-to-rank

  We do not accept payment to influence rankings or conclusions.

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  Human editorial review

  Every report is reviewed by named researchers and independent reviewers.

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  Limitations documented

  We state scope boundaries, evidence gaps, and uncertainty explicitly.

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  Updated when evidence changes

  Reports are revisited when new evidence alters a conclusion.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Researchers and reviewers disclose any financial, advisory, or personal relationship with entities covered in a report. If a conflict cannot be mitigated, the researcher recuses themselves. Conflicts are disclosed in the report itself.

Correction Policy

We aim to acknowledge receipt of a correction request within 5 business days. A decision on whether to issue a correction is made within 15 business days. Corrections are appended to the original report with a date and explanation; material corrections are also noted in our research briefing.

AI Disclosure

We may use AI-assisted tools for drafting, summarization, and data extraction. Every AI-assisted output is reviewed by a named human researcher before publication. We do not publish AI-generated claims without human verification against source evidence.

Prohibited Content

• Fabricated statistics or invented awards.
• Anonymous allegations presented as verified fact.
• Conclusions drawn after criteria were changed to fit them.
• Undisclosed pay-to-rank or pay-to-validate arrangements.

Publication Standards

Every report must include a research question, criteria, evidence classes, limitations, disclosure, source notes, and a correction pathway before it can be published as Live.