Research design
Projects should define the question, intended use, methods, evidence requirements, material assumptions, limitations, and review points proportionate to the work.
Institutional standard / Version 1.0 / July 2026
Research-integrity commitments.
Credible research states what was asked, how it was examined, what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain, and what interests shaped the work.
Traceability
Material sources, data provenance, analytic choices, changes in scope, and the basis for significant claims should be documented.
Independent judgment
Sponsor interests, desired outcomes, or organizational preferences should not be presented as research findings. Conclusions should follow the documented evidence.
Review
Quality-control and review practices should reflect the consequence, complexity, method, audience, and release context of the work.
Disclosure
Public work should identify authorship, material funding or sponsor relationships, relevant conflicts, limitations, version, date, and release status as appropriate.
Responsible conduct
Research should follow applicable law, agreements, ethics, privacy, safety, information-handling, export-control, and human-subject requirements.
Responsible release
Publication decisions should distinguish transparency from disclosure that is unlawful, unsafe, restricted by agreement, or harmful to legitimate national-security interests.
Corrections
Material errors in public work should be evaluated promptly. Corrections, updates, withdrawals, and version histories should be visible and proportionate to the issue.
Views, funding, and endorsement.
Unless a publication states otherwise, views and conclusions are those of the identified authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of any sponsor, partner, employer, government agency, or the United States Government.
Publication by the Institute, funding by a sponsor, or participation in a government program does not imply government approval or endorsement of Phantoms Institute, its authors, or its conclusions.
Questions or corrections
Send non-confidential integrity, correction, or publication inquiries to research@phantomsinstitute.org or use the contact form.