Every figure is sourced at the highest available tier: the official source of record first, then intergovernmental/multilateral bodies, reputable research institutes, and the primary methodology report. News provides context, not a value of record. AI summaries are never a source of record, and chart-only or paywalled values are used only when an accessible value is directly verifiable — otherwise they are tracked as data needs.
- Five preferred tiers, official source of record first.
- News is context only; AI summaries are never a source of record.
- Unverifiable values become data needs, not published figures.
Preferred order
Tier 1 Official source of record
The body that issues the figure — a government statistics office, central bank, finance ministry, or the issuing agency. Preferred whenever an accessible, directly-verifiable value exists.
Tier 2 Intergovernmental / multilateral
IMF, World Bank, UN agencies, OECD, IEA, and similar — used when they are the canonical compiler of a cross-country measure or when no single official source of record applies.
Tier 3 Reputable research institute
Established institutes with a published methodology (e.g. SIPRI for military expenditure). Used for measures they originate and maintain.
Tier 4 Primary methodology / report
The specific report, dataset, or fact sheet that defines and publishes the value — cited at the most primary level available, not a secondary write-up.
Tier 5 News — context only
Reputable news establishes context and timelines, but is not used as the source of record for a quantitative value when a higher tier exists.
Never a source of record
- AI-generated summaries are never a source of record for any value.
- Chart-only figures are not transcribed unless an accessible numeric value is directly verifiable.
- Paywalled or otherwise source-inaccessible values are listed as data needs, not published as if verified.
- Secondary aggregators are not cited in place of the primary issuing source.
Related
Source intake checklist: /methodology/source-intake · source quality: /source-quality · source health: /source-health · data needs: /data-needs.