Office memo
How We Look Things Up
| For | The whole list |
|---|---|
| Filed by | Cuswpc Tech |
Practical articles are only as good as the information underneath them. This page explains where we look, in what order, and how we handle claims we cannot confirm.
Primary sources come first
For each subject, we start with the people who make the rules or the product:
- Technology – manufacturer manuals, official support pages, release notes and published technical standards.
- Business and legal topics – government business registries, tax authorities and the official guidance they publish.
- Finance and insurance – financial regulators, consumer protection agencies and the published terms of the products discussed.
- Property and travel – public planning, housing and transport authorities, plus official tourism and city information.
Secondary material, such as trade press or other explainers, is useful for spotting questions but is not treated as proof on its own.
Hands-on checks
Where it is practical, we try the steps ourselves: opening a router's settings page, enabling a security feature or filling in a sample form. When we have not been able to test something, for example because it depends on a service in another country, we rely on the official documentation and say so.
Dates matter
Rules and interfaces change. We note when a source was published or last updated, prefer the most recent official version and revisit articles when we learn that the underlying material has moved on. A guide such as how to start an LLC is checked against current registry information rather than older summaries.
Handling uncertainty
Some questions do not have a single clean answer. When sources disagree or a rule varies between places, we describe the range rather than picking one version and presenting it as universal. Words such as "usually", "often" and "in many states" are there deliberately, to signal that your situation may differ.
What we leave out
- Figures we cannot trace to a reliable source.
- Claims from marketing material that we cannot check independently.
- Anonymous anecdotes presented as evidence.
Independence
Some articles mention or link to a product, service or company. That mention is not an endorsement, so check prices, contracts and reviews before you commit.
Help us improve
If you know of a better or more current official source for something we have written, we would like to hear about it. The process for reporting problems is on Getting It Right, and our wider editorial habits are described on The Way We Write.
Sourcing in brief
What stands behind an article
A few rules decide which information makes it onto the page.
Official documentation, regulators and public registries are consulted before any secondary write-up.
A figure without a traceable public source is left out and the point is made in words.
Steps involving devices or accounts are tried on a real screen whenever that is practical.
Where a rule differs between states or countries, the article says so instead of picking one version.
A company named in an article is context for the reader, never a promise about its service.
Checking a claim
The route from question to published answer
Every piece takes the same path, which makes it easier to retrace when something needs a second look.
Pin down the question
We write the reader's question in one sentence before any research starts, so the article stays on target.
Go to the source
Manuals, official guidance and registry pages are read first, with their publication dates noted.
Try it where we can
Settings, menus and sample forms are walked through so the steps match what readers will see.
Second reader
A colleague who did not write the draft checks facts, tone and any missing warnings.