Sources & Research Policy

Source hierarchy

We prefer sources in this order:

1. Primary law and rules: statutes, regulations and court rules.
2. Government and court publications: agency consumer guides, regulator websites and court self-help centers.
3. Established non-profit and professional resources: bar associations, legal aid organizations, and standard-setting bodies such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
4. Reputable secondary sources, used sparingly and only when a primary source is not available.

Citations

Each article lists its sources at the end, with the title, the publisher and a link. Where we record the date a page was last checked, it appears beside the source. Explanatory text in an article is general; statements of fact should be traceable to a listed source.

Unsourced claims

If a factual statement cannot be tied to a source, it is removed or rewritten as general explanation. We do not publish statistics, settlement values or outcome claims without a source we can point to.

Links

Source links are checked when an article is written and again when it is reviewed. If a link breaks, we replace it with a working source or remove the statement it supported. We link to government and other reputable sites only, and we do not accept payment for links.

Tools

We may use software tools, including AI-assisted tools, to help with research and drafting. Tools are never treated as sources. Everything we publish is checked against the sources listed in the article.

Limits

Even well-sourced information can be out of date or may not apply in your state. See the legal disclaimer and the corrections policy.