{"id":38,"date":"2026-09-12T13:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/?page_id=38"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:29:09","slug":"research-fact-checking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/?page_id=38","title":{"rendered":"Research, Sources and Fact-Checking Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bk-trust-page\" data-barnakle-policy=\"research-fact-checking\">\n<header class=\"bk-trust-hero\">\n<div class=\"bk-trust-shell\">\n<p class=\"bk-trust-eyebrow\">EVIDENCE FIRST<\/p>\n<h1>Research, Sources and Fact-Checking Policy<\/h1>\n<p class=\"bk-trust-intro\">Barnakle evaluates sources by their proximity to the evidence, expertise, transparency, independence and relevance to the claim being made.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bk-trust-updated\">Last updated September 9, 2026<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"bk-trust-shell bk-trust-layout\">\n<aside><strong>On this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<nav><a href=\"#our-preferred-source-order\">01 Our preferred source order<\/a><a href=\"#how-claims-are-checked\">02 How claims are checked<\/a><a href=\"#research-strength-and-uncertainty\">03 Research strength and uncertainty<\/a><a href=\"#anonymous-and-confidential-sources\">04 Anonymous and confidential sources<\/a><a href=\"#links-and-source-lists\">05 Links and source lists<\/a><\/nav>\n<\/aside>\n<p><main class=\"bk-trust-content\"><\/p>\n<section id=\"our-preferred-source-order\"><span>01<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Our preferred source order<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Original peer-reviewed research, datasets and technical reports.<\/li>\n<li>Government agencies, universities, scientific institutions and recognised international bodies.<\/li>\n<li>Named subject-matter experts with relevant qualifications.<\/li>\n<li>High-quality reporting that documents its evidence and methods.<\/li>\n<li>Secondary explainers used for orientation, never as the sole support for a consequential claim.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"how-claims-are-checked\"><span>02<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How claims are checked<\/h2>\n<p>Editors trace important factual claims to supporting material, check dates and definitions, compare numbers with the original source, and look for later corrections or contradictory evidence. A link alone is not proof: the cited source must actually support the surrounding statement.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"research-strength-and-uncertainty\"><span>03<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Research strength and uncertainty<\/h2>\n<p>We consider study design, sample size, controls, replication, conflicts of interest, statistical and practical significance, and whether findings apply beyond the population studied. Preliminary papers, preprints and conference findings are labelled as such.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"anonymous-and-confidential-sources\"><span>04<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Anonymous and confidential sources<\/h2>\n<p>Barnakle generally favours named, attributable sources. Anonymity may be granted when information has clear public value and identification could create a credible risk. Editors must know the source\u2019s identity and assess motive and corroboration.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"links-and-source-lists\"><span>05<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Links and source lists<\/h2>\n<p>Research-based articles should include useful source links or a sources section. Links are provided for transparency and do not imply that Barnakle endorses every statement on an external website.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"bk-trust-end\"><strong>Curious by nature. Accountable by design.<\/strong><a href=\"\/contact\/\">Contact Barnakle \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EVIDENCE FIRST Research, Sources and Fact-Checking Policy Barnakle evaluates sources by their proximity to the evidence, expertise, transparency, independence and relevance to the claim being made. Last updated September 9, 2026 On this page 01 Our preferred source order02 How claims are checked03 Research strength and uncertainty04 Anonymous and confidential sources05 Links and source lists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-38","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barnakle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}