Research methodology
How we decide what the evidence can support.
Version 1.0 · Effective September 2, 2026. This method applies to new Jaded research and substantive updates; older pages are being brought into the same standard as they are reviewed.
Evidence hierarchy
A higher-trust source does not make every interpretation correct. We record what each source establishes and what remains unknown.
| Evidence type | Publication rule |
|---|---|
| First-party account or site data | The source, date range, filters, definitions, and known tracking gaps must be stated. |
| Official primary source | Platform terms, help material, filings, and regulator guidance are preferred for volatile or high-stakes claims. |
| Direct observation | A live page, result set, or workflow can establish what was visible at the retrieval date—not why it performed. |
| Third-party estimate or analysis | Useful for direction and discovery, but labelled as an estimate and never presented as audited truth. |
| Inference or hypothesis | Clearly separated from observed facts and paired with a test or evidence needed to resolve it. |
Research question and definitions
- State the question, audience, collection dates, geography, and intended use before collecting data.
- Define every denominator, currency, fee basis, time window, inclusion rule, and exclusion rule before analysis.
- Preserve null, mixed, and negative findings instead of selecting only supportive examples.
- Separate observations from expert interpretation, operational opinion, and causal hypotheses.
Consent, privacy, and suppression
- Collect only data Jaded is authorized to use and obtain explicit publication consent where required.
- Remove direct identifiers and avoid combinations that could reasonably identify a creator.
- Set minimum group sizes and suppress small cells before preparing a public table or chart.
- Do not send worksheet entries, message text, handles, credentials, recovery codes, or financial values through analytics.
Publication and review gates
- A named reviewer appears only when that person genuinely reviewed the stated scope and approved the attribution.
- Legal, tax, payment, privacy, and security interpretation is either reviewed by an appropriate professional or limited to sourced operational information with a clear boundary.
- Dataset markup is used only when a visible, inspectable dataset actually exists.
- Charts, summaries, downloadable tables, press material, and page copy must use the same definitions and sample.
Corrections and conflicts
Jaded sells creator-management services, so commercial relevance is disclosed where it could shape interpretation. Material corrections should update the visible modified date and change summary without silently erasing the prior meaning.
To flag a source, definition, privacy, or calculation issue, use the contact path in our editorial and corrections policy.